Thirty Years
by Earendil3
Summary: A collection of short stories that bridges the gap between The Lost Age and Dark Dawn. Each chapter is a standalone story and there's one for each of the thirty years between the games.
1. Home

Isaac stepped carefully. Throughout his long adventure he had never encountered such a treacherous terrain. He knew that scouting the crater would not be easy. The Golden Sun event had cleaved the Anagra mountain range in two shattering mountain roots that had been stagnant still for thousands of years. It created a massive crater around Mount Aleph. Isaac even heard that buildings from as far as Lunpa had thatch roofs punctured by stray rocks from the sky.

They left early in the morning to scout the crater for a potential location to rebuild Vale. The group was led by Isaac's father, Kyle, and consisted of Isaac and his oldest friends who he had grown up with in, Garet, Jenna, and Felix. Garet's sister, Kay, and his father went with them also.

The group with whom Isaac had lit the Mars Lighthouse had disbanded shortly after arriving at the foot of Mount Aleph and discovering the survival of Vale's people. Ivan went to Kalay to reunite with Lord Hammet and Lady Layana while Mia returned to Imil to ensure the safety of her people. Since Alex's departure she had become the head of the Mercury Clan. Piers took his ship back to Lemuria dropping off Sheba at her home in Lalivero on the way. The eight of them had grown very close through their adventure and they all promised to reunite soon.

The scouting group continued cautiously through the smoldering landscape. Kyle halted for a moment and knelt. He picked up a charred stone and felt it carefully. It was still smoking from the explosion. Finally he spoke. "I haven't seen a single piece of wood or hay. There is nothing left of Vale."

A moment of silence followed as the group mourned their home. Jenna looked especially somber. Looking at his Isaac she spoke so that only he could hear "I can't believe it's really gone. Like it was never even here."

Isaac knew that she was hoping that Vale could be rebuilt the way it had been in their childhood. He was too. He had lived in Vale all his life. Before his journey began a year ago he hadn't gone farther away from Vale than Vault. He always assumed that when it was all through he would return to the quiet life in Vale. While looking at the crater where Vale stood something told Isaac that the quiet life was over forever. Perhaps their mission had changed the world more than he understood.

They continued on. Garet's father was in front now. His ankle rolled as he caught himself just before falling into the jagged rocks. Felix was closest and he hoisted Garet's father up.

"Are you hurt father?" Kay asked worriedly.

"I'm fine dear. But this land is cursed. I don't think a tent can be set up here let alone a village." Garet's father replied to his daughter.

Kyle spoke up. "I think it's time to go back. There's nothing left to see. Nothing can be built here, at least not for a long while. We will have to move south."

Garet looked array, "But what about watching over Mount Aleph? Wasn't that the whole reason Vale was here in the first place? How can we defend Sol Sanctum from five hundred miles south!?"

Kyle looked thoughtful. "Frequent scouting missions, camping out at the foot of the mountain."

"It won't work!" Garet blurted out.

"We have no choice." Felix remarked softly.

Garet was visibly agitated. _Why shouldn't he be? _thought Isaac. _They got by us before, the Proxians. On the night of the storm they broke into to Sol Sanctum and three years after that they stole the Elemental Stars. And that's when the town of Vale stood and the Anagra Mountain range remained unbroken. Now with the giant crater enemies can approach from all sides. But Felix was right. There are simply no other options. Unless…_

"Look!" Jenna pointed at a flat plateau overlooking the crater and the Mountain. "That plateau… it's probably large enough to fit a cabin. If supplies are shipped in we could live up there for months at a time."

Isaac smiled.

* * *

The scouting group arrived to camp hours later. The great healer and the elders of Old Vale, who had survived the explosion at the mountain, set up a meeting for the scouting group and other Valeans including Isaac's mother. A large oak table was moved into the biggest tent. Giant mugs of mead, new and old maps, and candles were spread across it.

Isaac's scouting group's findings were to be discussed. At length of course. Meetings with the great healer always seemed to get off topic and last hours. At the best of times they were horrifically boring. But today Isaac's mind was preoccupied and the meeting became almost unbearable. Visions of his childhood in Vale consumed his mind. _How can it be all gone?_ he thought.

He looked around the table at his friends and family. They all seemed to be filled with sorrow as well. Felix was talking even less than he usually did. Garet seemed to be attempting to drown his pain with the mead. It was incredible how close they had all grown to a place. But it was their place. And they thought that they were going to get it back. Exactly as it had been.

Finally he caught Jenna's eye. _This is the hardest on her. She loved Vale. More than any of us. Why couldn't this meeting wait until the morning? _Isaac thought. He was frustrated.

Eventually the group discussed news from the south that a messenger from Kalay brought to the camp. When the messenger declared that Lord Hammet promised two dozen carts of lumber to the survivors of Vale his heart lightened slightly. _I hope Ivan comes himself._

Isaac's mind was absent for rest of the meeting. He did however catch the main conclusion. They decided that the cabin on Jenna's plateau should be built and that the Warriors of Vale, as Isaac and his seven companions were beginning to be called, would take shifts guarding the Mountain. Finally the meeting officially concluded.

* * *

Isaac couldn't sleep in his tent. He couldn't stop remembering his home. Vale. The trees, the river, his parent's cabin, the town square, Kraden's cottage. He remembered running through the tall grass with his friends. They played pretend knights and princesses, dragons and castles. He remembered most fondly swimming in the river. Isaac always dreamed that he and Jenna would build a cabin in Vale by the river when their adventures were through. _How can it be gone? Just when we were finally coming home. Just when things were going to get back to how they should be. Weyard has changed too much. And it's our fault. _he reflected.

He heard slight movement at the side of his tent.

"… Isaac?" a soft voice uttered.

"Jenna? Come in" Isaac replied gently.

Jenna walked in the tent and sat next to where Isaac was lying. It was clear she had been crying. Isaac realized that she too was mourning the loss of their quiet town. They embraced.

"I can't believe it. I just can't. It was our only home." she said through sobs.

"We'll make a new home" Isaac tried to cheer her up. It broke his heart to see her this way. "What if we didn't do the right thing Isaac? Everything is changing… everything is changing too fast. People are dying Isaac… avalanches … earthquakes… what if we were wrong?"

"We had no choice Jenna. The world was suffocating."

His traditional response. It felt practised and fake after using it on countless people in the months following the event. But what if it wasn't true?

_It's not just Vale we're mourning _Isaac parents and the others were sad but they were not heartbroken like Isaac, Jenna, Garet, and Felix. They doubted their decision. _We're just now seeing that we changed Weyard forever. Irreversibly. What if things were better left be? Maybe Gaia Falls was never even receding. I never saw it for myself._

The two embraced for few more minutes. Isaac realized something that relaxed him. The eight of them, the Warriors of Vale, had each other now. They shared a single fate. Finally he spoke again.

"Maybe… maybe what we did wasn't right. We could have been wrong. But at the time there was no other option. And besides, it's over now. All we can do now is our best to rebuild."

Jenna was silent for a moment. She gave Isaac a weak smile. "I missed you so much"

She was remembering their months apart. Isaac remembered them all too well. Sleeping at night was nearly impossible when she was in the hands of the Proxians.

"I missed you too."

* * *

_Thanks a lot for reading! Leave a review if you want. _

_What I'm trying to accomplish with this fic is connecting Lost Age to Dark Dawn. As I mentioned in the description each chapter will correspond to one of the thirty years between the two games. So chapter one covers a few months after Lost Age, chapter two will be set a year after, chapter three will be set two years after, etc. There are plenty of stories alluded to in Dark Dawn and characters with open ended fates in Lost Age that I'm going to try to write about. My goal is to have every story be from the point of a view of a different character._

_If I have time these stories may lead into a larger fiction (involving most of the characters in these stories) about what happens after Dark Dawn. Thanks again for reading!_


	2. Birth of an Empire

Feizhi wandered through a foggy grassland. She had no recollection of this place. The smell of the air, the feel of the grass, the sound of the birds, all were foreign to her. She realized that she had no idea how she got there. As her mind started to clear it was pierced by sudden cry of anguish almost animal like in its intensity.

Someone was in pain. Horrible pain. She ran towards the sound of the cry. Her feet were barely moving. The cry sounded again, startling her so much that she fell face first into the soft grass. Frustrated she got up again. This time her feet were moving even slower.

_What is happening? Why can't I run? Where in Weyard am I? _she panicked. Her heart started to run faster and faster even as her feet ran slower and slower. Finally she saw something through the fog.

A beast. It was a beast who had cried. But this was no ordinary beast. Could it be one of the rumoured beastmen from Kolima? Was it possible?

As more of the fog cleared she saw that the beast was chained. And behind it was an East Anagran man cracking a whip against the mangled back of the beast. The man looked like he could have come from the same town as Feizhi. And suddenly there were more. Dozens of beastmen all chained. And dozens of their captors. She ran towards the first captor, the one with the whip. He was bald with a grizzly black beard and a torn trench coat. A large scar extended from his chin to his right temple.

"What are you doing?! What have they done to deserve this?" somehow Feizhi knew that the beastmen were innocent.

"These are swine. Good for nothing but work." spat the slave driver.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Feizhi asked terrified.

The man laughed horrifically "Welcome to the Sanan Empire!"

* * *

Feizhi sat up straight in her bed. It was a dream. Slowly her head cleared. It was a vision. Her first since before the Golden Sun rose one year ago. But she was absolutely sure it was a vision. The beastmen from Kolima are real. But why were they being held captive by her kinsmen? And where was she in her vision? What was the Sanan Empire?

She arose out of her bed and washed her face in the bowl that sat next to her bed. She knew she had to share her vision. She would not be able to sleep until she did, and besides, what if she forgot? This was her first vision in over a year. It had to be important.

Feizhi quickly scurried out of her room and down the hall towards her father's chambers. She didn't understand. Why now? She had been training her psynergy since before alchemy was released. And since it was released she had gotten much stronger much faster. But the visions never came back. No matter how hard she tried. Why now and why like this? Why when she wasn't even trying?

She rapped hard on her father's door and entered before waiting for a reply.

"Father, wake up." she nudged him.

"What is it my dear?" Feh said half asleep.

"I've had another vision."

Feh's eyes darted open. He sat up and lit the bedside candle. "Tell me what you saw."

Feizhi recounted her vision to him as accurately as she possibly could. She would not lose any of the information she learned in her dream to miscommunication or forgetfulness. Her father listened without interruption. He had always been the patient one of the two.

Feh looked thoughtful for a moment. "The Golden Sun event increased the fertility of the land. Cities can spend more gold on militaries and thus empires are possible. They have been arising all over Weyard. Iodem has named himself Emperor of the Tolbi Empire that encompasses north Gondowan. Even now a man named Ko is calling for the people of East Anagra to join together into a nation. Some of our own people, the people of Xian, are rallying to his flag. Perhaps this is the beginnings of the Sanan Empire that you saw in your vision."

Feizhi was shocked she had not made the connection already. She paused for a minute. "Father, I don't believe that my vision represented a small group. It represented the entire beastmen race… being enslaved by some empire gone horribly wrong."

"I agree Feizhi. You have grown wise."

"We cannot let this happen. It must be stopped."

"Can it be? Has a vision of yours been stopped before?"

"I saw Hsu die in the rock slide. Before Isaac and his friends saved him."

"The Warriors of Vale have powerful destinies. Perhaps your powers of prophecy don't extend to those whose fates are tied to the fate of the world."

"It doesn't matter. We still have to try."

"Indeed. We should meet with Ko and his nationalists as soon as possible."

* * *

Feizhi was woken up early the next morning by the sound of shouting. She bolted up out of bed without stopping to change out of her night dress. The shouting was coming from Xian's entrance near the cherry garden. From what she could hear it sounded as though no one was in danger. It was some sort of rally. Feizhi ran down the hallway of her father's Martial Arts school, where both of them lived.

Her father and several others seemed to be discussing something in the dojo's main training room. _What are they deliberating about? Probably whatever is going on outside _thought Feizhi.

"Feizhi! Wait!" Feh shouted as he saw his daughter running.

She ignored him and ran out the door of the dojo and down the steps to Xian's main road. Then she saw them. There was at least one hundred men. Most if not all of them looked like them came from East Anagra. Probably from the nearby farms and villages. Nine tenths of them were armed. Feizhi had never seen such a gathering in Xian before or anywhere for that matter. The Xian villagers were also gathered.

One man stood on a small mound at the side of the road. The rest looked at him as he spoke. He was at least forty years old but he had the eyes of a young man. Feizhi could see a fire in his heart. He wore a regal coat and at his waist was a bejeweled sword. _This must be one of the fishermen from Tonfon. No one else from East Anagra could afford a sword and coat like that. Father said that they have grown filthy rich off the bounties of the Golden Sun event. Tonfon used to be a humble fisherman`s village. Now it's the richest city this side of the Goma mountains._

"Men and women of Xian. For too long have the people of East Anagra been isolated from each other. In the days of our ancient ancestors we were united under the single banner of one great Empire. And now the Golden Sun has returned. The time to rally together again is now!" He spoke with a low and commanding voice. Feizhi could see how this man came to be so revered. His statement was met with loud cheers from the armed men and more than a few of the Xian residents.

"The people of Tolbi have created an ever expanding empire that stretches from the West Sea to the East Sea. It's only a matter of time before Iodem's greedy eyes look to our great land. It is time to take what is ours before it is taken from us. You are witnessing the birth of a great empire. Welcome, people of Xian, to the Sanan dynasty!"

The people erupted into frantic cheers "All hail Emperor Ko!"

Feizhi's heart stopped _Don't they understand what this means? We'll have to pay fealties to a regime ruled by a stranger… possibly a warlord. How can they support this? This can't be happening. It's too soon. Why have the gods cursed me with the power of prophecy and the inability to prevent the horrors of the future?_


	3. Ancient Spirits

He awoke to the slow and steady rumble of the earth. It emitted a low tremor that reverberated into his many limbs. The top soil remained seemingly still but the earth beneath it shifted and twisted continuously. The plants around him quivered as their roots were shook by the motion of the soil. Weyard was breathing again.

His forest changed since the release of the elements. The trees were taller and broader than they had been since the old days. The forest's floor was filled again with a great number and variety of creatures. Kolima was breathing again.

It had been two summers since the elements returned to the earth. The young ones who saved him were the same who lit the beacons and restored Weyard. Their auras were noble and strong. He hoped that they were prepared for the tribulations that were to come.

He felt his companion's surprised voice penetrate his mind, _You're awake?_

Laurel's mind shared a connection with his own. They could speak to each other without using their voices. Their spirits and the essence of the forest itself were linked together. He was the protector of the forest and she was his successor. That was what it meant to be a Waelda.

_The earth is moving more than usual today, it disturbed my sleep, _Tret responded to her.

_You sleep for too long Tret. A pack of beastmen travelled through the outskirts of east Bilibin._

The beastmen were awoken almost immediately after the restoration of the elements. Their existence depended on the elements and so they died out when alchemy was sealed. The last time Tret felt them wander Angara was during the golden age of man. In those days they looked to him as a protector and Tret allowed some of them to live within his forest and in return they guarded his lands from men. When they were awoken again this alliance was reformed.

_Their reach grows farther, _Tret reflected.

_ Perhaps too far. I fear that the men will discover them soon._

Laurel had often expressed this fear to him. In the ancient days beastmen and men fought many great wars against one another. The men of this era would certainly be terrified of the beastmen. All they knew of beastmen was isolated stories that they believed to be myth and folklore. When the men encountered the beastmen they would see them as demon mutations. Tret dreaded that conflict was unavoidable.

_Who is at the helm of the pack?_ He queried her.

In the golden age the beastmen built great kingdoms, but now they travelled through Angara as nomads in rootless packs. Typically the strongest beastman, often one gifted with psynergy, was the leader of these packs.

_It was Kaito's pack._

Kaito was a very skilled adept. Perhaps the most powerful beastman in Angara. He was known to all of the beastmen for this. Legends of his deeds echoed through beastman camps across the entire continents. But Tret favoured him for his wisdom, not his power. He often travelled to Kolima to seek the guidance of Tret and Laurel and he deeply respected the forest.

The pack he steered was one of the largest and by far the most ambitious. Kaito had explored the Great Eastern Sea and the northern mountain range with them. They trusted him with their lives. Tret worried that this curiosity was dangerous. Tret had warned him several times to avoid the emerging kingdoms of men.

_He seeks guidance but he does not listen. He wanders too far, _Laurel elaborated.

Tret was sure that Kaito hadn't purposefully encroached on Bilibin territory. Kaito shared his desire to delay the inevitable interaction between the two species. Kaito did not seek a fight.

_The kingdoms of men grow larger each day. Contact between beastman and man can not be delayed forever. Eventually Bilibin and Sana will intrude on beastman lands._

_ Can the bloodshed be avoided?_

Tret had lived through one entire age and half of another but he was not sure of this. He prayed that violence and war could be circumvented. However the men of this age reminded him too much of the men from the golden age. As did the beastmen. If they warred then, then why wouldn't they war now?

_I'm not sure, _Tret admitted_._

_ Perhaps the elements should never have been released._

_ The young ones chose well. Weyard would have faded without the elements._

Tret could feel Laurel's uncertainty._ Without the elements the world would suffocate. But with the elements Weyard will inescapably fall into war and chaos._

_ Such is the dilemma of our world._

_ Is this Weyard's fate for eternity? A constant cycle of sealing and releasing the elements?_

Tret was born in the age before the great heroes sealed alchemy to prevent the Weyard from falling into disorder. The father of the forest, his predecessor, often spoke of the age before that when alchemy was sealed. Tret also lived to see an age, the one that recently ended, where the elements were sealed. And now the elements were once again released. It did seem to be an endless cycle.

_Perhaps._

The thought tired Tret. He started to feel the wounds around the base of his trunk. They sucked the life energy out of him. Sleep was the only answer. He started to drift off but Laurel could sense this.

_ You sleep too much Tret. Hasn't the return of the elements restored your youth? Haven't your wounds healed by now?_

It was true. Since the young ones lit the ancient beacons he had felt younger in some ways. His senses were more alert. He could feel the wind on each leave individually. He could sense the movement of all the creatures in his domain and his power was more united with that of his forest. His spirit lived in Kolima tree and plant, as did Laurel's.

But Tret's was an old spirit. That lived in a very old forest. He was born in a time when Kolima stretched over the entire continent. He lost count of how many moons since his beginning but by the calendar of men it had to have been several millennia. His roots were deep and ancient. They were weakening even before the arrogant lumber men took their axes to his ancient trunk.

_Somewhat, _Tret responded to Laurel's question. Despite the incredible healing effects of Mercury's water brought to him by the young ones the wounds inflicted by the axe men still leeched life from him. He slept through most of the past two years. He could sense that his wounds would eventually draw the remaining life from him.

_I can feel my spirit fading. Soon it will pass from the world just as the father of the forest did before me. Kolima will be yours to protect Laurel. You are young but I believe you are ready._

Tret could sense her fear. He felt the same way before he was protector of the forest. Tret had been Laurel's only companion since her birth. But even the Waelda do not live forever. It was the way of the forest for one to succeed the other.

Dark years were fast approaching. Tret's spirit could feel them coming. An era of violence and catastrophic change was imminent that he was sure he would not see the end of. Laurel would be the protector of the forest then. He prayed that she would be ready when the time came. Kolima would be under attack along with the rest of Weyard.

* * *

_Hey thanks for reading! I really wanted to write a story about Tret and explore some of the lore behind the Waelda, but halfway through writing this I realized that not a whole lot happens. I hope I kept it short enough to be enjoyable. If you liked or didn't like something then leave a review, I love feedback._

_Next chapter is Briggs!_


	4. The Pirate Nation

The morning breeze was much stronger than usual. Briggs was standing at the dock waiting for the return of his ship. It was the only Champan vessel currently at sea and its return was long past due. He worried that something was wrong. The breeze was too cold for early autumn and the waves were far too choppy. _There must have been an ocean storm last night, _he reflected. Briggs had been a sea farer for decades. He knew the whims and muses of the Great Eastern Sea better than anyone in Weyard.

_It doesn't make sense. They should be back by now. _Dara was a good sailor, and Briggs' most trusted friend. He had taken a ship out to bring goods to trade with Lemuria. Briggs' old friend Piers was their waiting for them. Chaucha and Eoleo, Briggs' wife and son, had gone with him to visit Piers and see the reborn city for the first time. It was three years since the Golden Sun Event and since then the great Lemurian King Hydros had worked non-stop to restore Lemuria to its former glory. Briggs had Piers to thank for Champa's alliance and trade with the ancient island nation.

The Lemurians would never harm or keep Champans captive. So it must have been the storm that was delaying their return. But surely Dara could handle the storm. Chaucha was an apt sailor as well. She could probably steer the ship through herself despite being pregnant with their second child. _They should be back by now. They would have sent a pigeon if they had decided to stay longer._

"Sir!" a shout pierced his thoughts. Briggs sighed. It was the shout of his self-appointed advisor, Cecil. He was a short man with a thin black mustache.

"What is it my royal pest?" Briggs answered, not even turning to face him.

"We have received another pigeon from the Sanans, sir. They request an audience." Cecil persisted in his badgering of Briggs standing two feet behind his neck to Briggs' annoyance.

"When will they give up? I have no interest in meeting with fat diplomats." Briggs answered still not facing Cecil.

"Sir, it is imperative that we return the Sanans pigeons at the very least. Emperor Ko will not look kindly on being ignored!"

Suddenly Briggs turned to face him. Cecil barely suppressed a jump of fright. "I don't care what that power hungry fatso thinks! And _stop_ calling me sir!"

Cecil was visibly annoyed. "First You refuse to be called king and now not even sir? What am I to call you then?"

"Your royal highness the colossal" Briggs replied dryly. He had had just about enough from Cecil.

"Do you realize that if we don't respond to the Emperor he might lash out against us? Don't you care about our people? Don't you want to lead us?"

The only thing that made Cecil bearable was that he honestly did care about Champa. After the Golden Sun Event, Cecil among others advocated for the establishment of a Champan Nation. Other cities and villages and Weyard had already made this move. Cecil believed that a Champan Nation was the only way to prevent Champa and the other villages on the south coast of Angara from being squashed and annexed by larger powers. Briggs hesitantly agreed. However, he insisted that he would never be called King and that his people would forever be free men and women. Free to live wherever they chose, free to fight for whoever they chose, and free from taxes. Briggs thought through his words and slowly responded to Cecil.

"No. _You_ want me to lead our people. And I'm doing the best I can for them. I can't respond to the pigeon because then Sana will know our location and I guarantee we will be raided. The Sanans are brutes and bullies. Better to ignore it and hope that Ko assumes his pigeons got lost."

Cecil paused for a long while to regain his composure. He knew that Briggs was right about this. "I'm sorry… Briggs."

It made Briggs slightly happier to see how hard it was for him to get the words out. Cecil was a proud man but he was also a good man. Briggs needed people like him for Champa's sake. So he kept him around despite their frequent bouts.

"Briggs… Didn't you only send one ship to Lemuria?" Cecil was suddenly deep in confusion.

Briggs looked up at the horizon. There were three large ships approaching port. In the middle was surely the Champan vessel that was sent out with Dara, Chaucha, and Eoleo. Briggs could recognize his ships from any distance. However on either sat huge two military ships. Not Champan.

"Are they Lemurian?" Cecil yet again pierced Briggs' thoughts.

"No." responded Briggs. Briggs analyzed the ships from the great distance. _Lemurian ships move faster than our vessels. If Piers or another Lemurian were accompanying Chaucha and Dara they would be moving at the speed of our ship. But these ships are moving slower than Champan ships. Chaucha and Dara must be slowing down to keep pace with them. Who else could it be? Sanan, Alfhafran, Madran, and Izuman ships frequent the East Sea. But the mid ocean waterfall has been keeping out the Alfhafran and Madran ships these past couple of months. And the bows are far too round to be Izuman ships. They must be Sanans. That explains the slow movement. Shoddy construction at best._

Briggs turned to Cecil. "They're Sanans. Tell everyone not to mention that we received their pigeons. And burn the letters."

"Why are they here?" Cecil asked worriedly.

Briggs ignored the question. "Gather everyone at the cliff."

* * *

Briggs ran up Champa's main street towards the cliff. Long before Briggs' birth the cliff was excavated. Now it was the home to a quarter of Champans and his grandmother's famous forge. It had always been a good place to stand while giving a warning or speech to the Champans.

He ran up the stairs nearly tripping. When he got to his ledge he found himself remembering one of the first speeches he gave there. It had only been three years ago but it felt like a millennium ago. Champa was between a rock and a hard place. The Venus lighthouse was just lit and the Champans were desperate for food. Their farms were dry. He had to declare his intent to raid the town of Madra. The parents of his young pirates thought they would never see their boys again. It was a suicide mission. Briggs felt the same fear in the townspeople now. _They must have already seen the ships._

Finally he looked out at his people. Cecil had done well; nearly all the townspeople were gathered and ready to hear what Briggs had to say. Champans were loyal to those who proved themselves and Briggs had done just that time and time again.

"Champans! Three vessels approach. Dara and his crew have returned from Lemuria. As you may have seen they are accompanied by two Sanan war ships. You all know what the Sanans do. They are imperial pirates with no honour. We have heard stories of them raiding and pillaging innocent island villages and port towns across Angara. I urge you all to arm yourself and remain in your homes. They hold our sons and daughters, our mothers and fathers, our wives and husbands captive. We have no choice but to let them in. May the gods protect us."

Champans were calm people. He heard no screaming. People instead solemnly filed into their homes to pray for the safe return of their loved ones. They were not scared of a fight but they also knew when a fight was better to be avoided. The Sanans had too many hostages. Briggs fiercely regretted letting Chaucha and Eoleo go with Dara. He should have known it was too dangerous.

He climbed down the steps of the cliff and approached the dock. He had to meet with the Sanans face to face and unarmed. There was no other way to get his wife and son back unscathed. It angered Briggs to think that the Sanans would have never dared approach Champa without these captives. No one had attempted a raid Champa for decades. Not since before Briggs was born.

Cecil met him at the bottom of the cliff. "You don't have to come with me Cecil."

"You're going to need someone who knows how to negotiate. I don't think that diplomacy is a pirate's strong suit."

* * *

Briggs and Cecil waited in silence for the Sanan vessels to dock. Out of the first Sanan vessel and the Champan vessel came troops of Sanan soldiers and sailors. They threw out thin planks from the ships to walk onto the dock by. None of them spoke to Briggs or Cecil despite Cecil's attempt to open up negotiations. Instead they hurriedly set up a thick wooden platform for their superiors to walk down and onto the dock by.

Then the third ship docked and the Sanan commanders walked down the platform. They seemed to be led by a single man. It was a tall man who wore a large military trench coat. He wore a thin goatee and was decorated with badges and jewelry. At his hip hung a long sword with a golden handle. This was a far cry from the fat diplomats that Briggs was expecting. Despite his jewelry the man looked very capable of breaking bone.

At his right hand side stood a much younger man, about twenty years old. The Sanan men took orders from this man as well despite his youth. He wore a similar military jacket but was ornamented with no badges and less jewelry. He was armed with a simple rapier.

Finally the Champans emerged from the ship. They were surrounded by armed Sanan men and they were of course unarmed. However they were also unbound. Briggs suspected that the Sanans did not want to offend Briggs any more than was necessary. His eyes immediately focused on his wife and son. They were unhurt. Chaucha gave Briggs a smile. She had faith that Briggs would pull them through. Eoleo was chipper as ever. The boy was fearless.

Dara looked resilient and thoughtful. His eyes darted around looking for an exit. Briggs realized that these Sanans must have been extremely powerful to have captured Dara's crew. Champan ships were faster and their sailors were more experienced. He knew it would be unwise to underestimate the captors.

"Greetings from the Champan Nation," Cecil was the first one to speak of course.

The leader of the Sanans looked Cecil up and down. "Who am I speaking with? King Briggs of Champa?"

The Champan sailors burst out laughing. His sailors found the idea of being led by the small peckish man laughable. Briggs allowed himself a smirk when he saw Cecil's face turn beet red.

The younger Sanan, the one at the right hand of the Sanan commander, turned angrily towards the Champans, "Quiet sea rats!"

The Sanan commander glared at his younger subordinate, "Keep your tongue in check Wo." He turned to face Cecil, "Can you please inform the pirate king of our arrival?"

Briggs was watching his wife and young son in captivity and was starting to lose his patience. "I'm Briggs. Who the hell are you?"

Cecil gasped. Dara smiled a broad smile at Briggs. Briggs wasn't about to sweet talk some imperial general. He was a pirate. Some of the Sanan troops gasped along with Cecil. They watched their commander intently waiting for his response.

The commander took a moment to collect his thoughts, "My name is General Kuan of the Sanan Empire and this is my crew. The Emperor has been trying to contact you for some time, King Briggs."

Briggs knew that he had put this General Kuan in a tough situation. Kuan wanted to look tough to maintain the respect of his troops but he also had to keep Briggs in a good mood if he wanted this raid to go without significant losses. Briggs had the high ground now. _He's been sweet talking since he got here. He's obviously scared of a straight fight. Too risky. If I can get his troops laughing at my open disrespect maybe he'll want to get out of here as fast as possible._

"I'm not a king, Sanan. I'm a pirate. And now that I know who you are, can you tell me why you're here? Did you want to learn how to become a pirate from the best who ever lived? Sorry but I don't know if you have what it takes."

The Champans laughed. They were fearless even in captivity. Some of the Sanans nervously chuckled. Kuan's face darkened. Perhaps Briggs had gone too far. However Kuan did not seem to be a rash man. He would not risk an open fight just to save his pride.

Kuan mechanically straightened his back and spoke slowly with intention, "I'm here to return to you your vessel and its crew. They were lost at sea."

"Champans never get lost at sea. _Why_ are you here Sanan?", Briggs fired back. Cecil looked like he was just about ready to cry.

"Perhaps we should discuss it over a meal? Are your halls available?" Briggs was caught off-guard. Kuan pulled a clever move. By inviting himself and his men into Champan cliff he was shifting the tables and reasserting his dominance in the situation. Briggs knew he couldn't say no.

"Cecil, prepare a table."

* * *

The group gathered less than an hour after the meeting at the dock. Cecil had gathered together some Champans to quickly prepare a table for the Sanans. Plates of salted fish and squid were set out at the table. Briggs sat at the head of the large table with ten seats. To his right sat Cecil and at the other end of the table sat Chaucha and Dara. Briggs couldn't say why Kuan had those two sit in with them. Was he gloating by bringing Chaucha into the very same room when Briggs had no way to save her?

Between Briggs and Chaucha sat the Sanan General Kuan, the young captain Wo, and four other Sanan captains. In addition there were ten Sanan soldiers stationed in the room. Kuan and his captains had changed out of their military coats into dinner robes. Briggs never ceased to be amazed at the ridiculous rituals of the imperials.

The meal went on in silence for the first quarter of an hour. Briggs wasn't at all sure what to expect from Kuan. The request for dinner had taken Briggs by surprise and he still hadn't analyzed the situation enough to make a plan. Finally Kuan broke the silence.

"The Emperor has wanted to contact the great country of Champa for some time. His servants have sent many pigeons looking for your legendary coast town."

_He already said this. What's he leading towards? _Briggs considered. He spoke before the lull in the conversation gained momentum, "Can't say I've seen any of 'em floating around."

Kuan acted as if he hadn't heard Briggs and continued speaking, "Emperor Ko believes that an alliance between our two great nations would be beneficial. Weyard is a very different place than it was three years ago. The people of Sana embrace this new future and wish to forge alliances with likeminded nations. We believe that together we can return to the glory of the ancients."

Briggs didn't know what to say. _I have no input on this matter, it's irrelevant. Is he trying to stump me?_

Kuan looked pleased when Briggs didn't respond, "I see that you agree with our thinking Briggs. Perhaps the Champan people will offer a gift to the Emperor as a symbol of the friendship between our nations?"

Briggs responded without thinking, "Champa has no desire to be allied with dishonourable village raiding scum."

A vicious thump followed by a loud cry of pain filled the room immediately. Chaucha was hit with the butt end of a spear by the Sanan soldier stationed closest to her. Briggs and Dara leapt out of their chairs with vigour but they were immediately thrown back by the hands of the Sana soldiers. The soldiers restrained the four Champans in the room. Two were required for each, even the pregnant Chaucha.

Briggs had run out of options, "Get your hands off my wife you bastard!"

Kuan stood out of his chair. He spoke in a vicious tone completely unlike his professional speech from before, "What did you think was going to happen Briggs? You're little show at the dock was nice but flaring your feathers isn't going to scare me off. You're dirt Briggs. You're people are dirt. And Sanans take what they want from dirt. If you don't behave yourself you're people will suffer tremendously."

Kuan seemed to fill the room as he spoke. He had been playing with Briggs the whole time. He was making Briggs think that Kuan would be scared into leaving Champa for sport. He was giving Briggs hope just to take it away.

Kuan turned to the nearest soldier, "Lock them up here. We're not taking them with us. No need to dirty the ship."

Briggs felt the butt end of a spear drive into the back of his skull.

* * *

Briggs woke up to his son's voice.

"Dad! Dad! We have to go! They're getting away!"

Briggs sat up incredibly confused. _Why the heck am I sleeping in the dining hall? And holy shit, why does my head hurt so much?_

Briggs looked at Eoleo. The boy was only six years old but he was already quite the adept. He had powers that Briggs couldn't dream of. Powers like that of his old friend Felix. Perhaps one day his son may even rival the great Warriors of Vale. The thought made Briggs exceedingly proud.

"Leo? Why aren't you in bed? And where's your mom?", Briggs smiled at his boy.

"Dad! We have to go now! They'll get away!", Eoleo was more worked up than Briggs had ever seen him. It must have been a nightmare. However the boy was never one to have nightmares.

"Who's gonna get away son?", Briggs tried to comfort Eoleo.

"The Sanans!", Eoleo shouted.

Just like that it all came back to Briggs. The Sanan ships in his port. Chaucha held captive. The bastard general raiding Champa's gold. The spear to the back of the head._ I can't let this happen. No Sanan ship can outrun a Champan._

"Where's your mother? Where's Dara?", Briggs queried his son quickly.

"They're at the dock waiting for you!", Eoleo responded even faster.

Briggs got up and ran out of the dining room and towards the dock, "Wait with your grandma Leo!"

As Briggs ran through the cave's hall he felt a weight at his wrist. There was a cuff on either hand with part of a chain hanging from each. At the end of each chain was a singe mark. They had been burnt through. _What kind of fire can burn through chains? Leo! That's my boy!_

Eoleo was a fire adept. He must have used a fireball to burn through the chain. One day Briggs would bring the boy with him on these kind of adventures. Eoleo would surely become an unbeatable pirate. Briggs ran out the front door of Champa's excavated cliffs. He saw Cecil looking worrisome as usual. Cecil's wrists had the same charred off hand cuffs.

"Briggs! The coffers are empty! They've taken everything!"

Briggs ignored him and continued running. Briggs finally arrived at the dock. His ship, the very same that he stole from the seedy Alfhafran mayor years earlier, was ready for take-off. Chaucha was at the dock and Dara was standing at the wheel. Chaucha, Dara and the rest of the crew all sported burnt hand cuffs just like Briggs. Eoleo had been busy.

Chaucha embraced Briggs, "I would go with you!" She looked at her pregnant belly. There was no sense risking their child. Besides, Briggs didn't like it when Chaucha came anyways. He hated to put her in danger. But she would never stand to stay behind. Being pregnant however changed things.

"We'll be back before you know it love!", he broke the embrace.

Briggs practically ran up the ladder to the ship, "Dara! Take off, take off, take off!"

The ship left dock as the Champans untied the ropes and the sails caught the wind. Briggs ran up to wear Dara was steering. Dara smiled his signature smile.

"That son of yours is quite the pirate Briggsy!"

Briggs was overjoyed to see his friend out of captivity, "Chains don't suit you Dara."

"Aye Briggsy. You neither."

Briggs spotted the ships in the distance already. The Sanans were even slower than he thought. The water was clear and so was the sky. The perfect day for plundering.

Briggs pointed at the horizon where Kuan's ships were, "There they are. That was fast."

Dara smiled his broad smile again, "Sanans shouldn't try to sail. It's just embarrassing."

Briggs laughed.

A couple hours elapsed before Briggs' ship overtook Kuan's. The afternoon sun was hot. Much hotter than the stormy breeze the day before. _The sea is fickle, _Briggs reflected.

"Load the forward facing ballistae!", Briggs shouted at his men. Briggs recently had his ship outfitted with forward facing ballistae in addition to the hull side ones. It came in handy in a situation like this. Kuan's ships only had hull side ballistae and so they were sitting ducks with the Champan vessel acting the predator from behind. Kuan couldn't turn his ships because as soon as the motion began Briggs would fire into the back of both ships. A few could shots from his fire ballistae and the Sanan ships would be floating candles.

"Dara, take the wheel!", Briggs ran to the bow of his ship to yell at the Sanans who were within earshot. The Champan sailors were giddy with excitement.

"Kuan!", Briggs stood as far to the front of his ship as he could. Beneath him sat his loaded ballistae ready to make driftwood out of the Sanan ships.

"Kuan! Get out here you thieving imperial scum bag!", Briggs continued to shout.

Finally Kuan showed his face. He was decorated in the same military coat and badges as he was before, except now he didn't look quite so tall, "I'm here Briggs. What do you want?"

"All the gold on your ship of course! And an apology. An apology would warm my heart. How's that sound boys?", Briggs shouted back at his crew. They laughed and cheered. Some heckled the Sanan soldiers.

Kuan walked towards the back of his ship, "Come aboard and take the gold. Be quick about it."

"Alright. We've done this many times so we're used to it, and soon you'll be used to it too! I'd like you to command your thugs to drop their weapons please. And you too of course.", Briggs always relished in his victories and today was no different. The Sanans had offended Briggs more than most.

"Do as the pirate says", Kuan gave the order mechanically. The soldiers dropped their weapons. Kuan was the last to do so.

"Wow. You sound like a robot. Give it some emotion. And I prefer to be called the Almighty Pirate King", Briggs continued to toy with the General.

Kuan stared at Briggs. Briggs maintained the eye contact.

"I'm not joking friend," Briggs jabbed.

Kuan took a deep breath, "Do as the almighty pirate king says". The Champan crew erupted once again into cheers and laughter.

"I think it's high time to board! Long live Champa!", Briggs shouted above the rest.

His loyal crew returned the cheer with a deafeningly loud bellow, "Long live Champa!"


	5. Father of Storms

The bartender hummed old Bilibian sonnets to himself as he served the men. The mood in the tavern was bleak. The patrons murmured about folklore; forests that ensnared travelers in their vines, continents growing and shifting thousands of miles, ancient deities returning to life, and people mutating into murderous beasts.

A young man who smelled of ash and wore a long coat sat at the bar. Next to him an old man with a worn blue tunic and a thin white beard pulled up a chair. The older man listened, for a while, to the bartender's humming.

"Missin Vanderl?", the old man asked the bartender with a raspy tired voice. The bartender laughed.

"We haven't had a real musician in here since he left", the bartender mused.

"Aye. Besides Vanderl Bilibin's never been a music town. Whatever happened to him anyways?"

"I don't know… He stopped coming around the time of the Golden Sun."

The young man who smelled of ash turned to the bartender, "I heard he turned." The bartender and the old man said nothing for a full minute after the reference to the beastmen mutations. Finally the bartender broke the silence.

"A pint?", the he asked the old man.

"Aye", the old man mumbled.

The bartender began to pour the man his drink. The man considered the mostly quiet tavern, "Why so drab tonight?"

The bartender looked uncomfortable at the question but he answered without uncertainty, "It's Dianne. The smithy's little girl."

"What happened?"

The bartender's face clouded over, "She's been missing for two days. Folks around here think that the beasts got her."

The old man's face slowly transformed into a distorted frown. He sat noiselessly as the bartender handed him his drink. Finally he spoke through gritted teeth, "We ought to never have let the mutants leave here alive."

The bartender returned the man's fuming expression with a solemn face, "We didn't know it would get this bad… we thought it could be reversed."

The younger man stirred in his chair. He gave both the old man and the bartender long looks. "The days are getting darker. For the past four years. Ever since the event. There's talk of mutant beasts in more areas than just Bilibin. And they're gathering. From all over Angara they're gathering in Morgal forest."

The old man scowled at the youth. "Rumours", he spat out.

The bartender looked more curious than skeptical. The young man continued staring at the older tavern patron, "Mid-summer is in a quarter moon. Last year they gathered in Morgal forest on mid-summer night. They'll gather again this year. Mark it."

A garish knock on the table interrupted him. Two Bilibin soldiers stood with spear in hands. The larger of the two had pounded the table with the bunt end of his weapon to get the attention of the men in the tavern. Between the guards stood a royal messenger of Lord McCoy's entourage. He wore a long red cloak and spoke with a scroll in hand,

"Attention! Two days ago the smithy's daughter was lost in Morgal forest. No man or women of Bilibin or anywhere else has seen or heard from the girl since. It is unlikely that she has survived. Lord McCoy's council has determined that the beastmen are to blame for this travesty, the very same who mutated from among us four years ago. We have banished them from our farms and from our villages but that is not enough. Lord McCoy calls his men to arms."

The men at the Bilibin tavern knew that meant them. They stirred in their seats but remained silent. Lord McCoy was an ambitious man. They knew the day when he would call his men to war and conquest would come eventually. The royal messenger remained undeterred in his speech.

"At first light tomorrow the royal soldiers and Bilibin's militia will march into Morgal to bring the beasts to justice. Any man older than fourteen and younger than sixty five is required by law to report to General Yew at the barracks tomorrow morning. Long live Bilibin."

* * *

Kaito stepped carefully in the thicket. He had decided to lead his people slowly through the worn forest path. The Morgal woods path was heavily overgrown and Kaito's pack was still on the outskirts of the great forest. There was no sense rushing them through the treacherous forest and risking heavy losses. The pack had traveled the northern Angara plains in haste to reach the forest as soon as possible. Now they were ahead of schedule and slow movement was suitable. If Kaito's plan proceeded smoothly they would reach the ruins by nightfall.

But that was only if there were no distractions and of course there would be distractions. Kaito smelled blood. A fresh kill. He signalled to his pack and dashed into the bush. Behind him ran his mate, Vera, and two of his pack's most skilled warriors Jorges and Goran. The members of Kaito's pack banded together, as all beastmen packs did, after they were banished from human settlements following the Golden Sun rising. Kaito did not need words to indicate his intentions to his people. The four beastmen tracked the kill together.

Vera stopped suddenly. Her sense of smell was more attuned then Kaito's or his warriors'. She looked around sharply. Turning to Kaito she spoke in a hushed tone, "We are very close."

_She means that the killer is present, _thought Kaito. Kaito focused in on his sense of smell, ignoring everything else. The smell of the blood threatened to overpower any other smell but he tuned it out. He smelt the musk of a large focused on his sense of hearing ignoring smell and his other senses. He heard the breathing of his companions echo in his mind. He focused in on the other sounds of the forest. He heard the loud footsteps of the beast. Branches snapped in its wake. _Only one forest beast causes so much noise._

"Grizzly", Kaito whispered to Vera. Vera smiled at him. She had already known of course. Her incredible tracking abilities were originally what made Kaito view her with such high regard. From there a mutual trust was built. Kaito couldn`t imagine having anyone else for a mate.

Kaito heard a smash. The twelve foot rabid grizzly charged through a bush towards Jorges. The bear swung his massive arm at Jorges before he could react knocking him head first into the large oak that stood nearby. The bear roared stridently and moved in to finish of Jorges. Goran swiftly jumped on the beast claws out. When he landed his claws dug into the grizzly's back and the bear arched its back in pain violently throwing Goran off and into the mud.

Kaito took the opportunity to strike. He stepped into a forward leap at the grizzly and swiped his right claw against the bear's jugular immediately killing just as the bear uselessly swung his arm at where Kaito was the second before. Goran scrambled to avoid the downfall of the massive bear. It teetered before it crashed into the earth, sending a cloud of dirt into the air.

Vera rushed to where Jorges was slowly getting up holding his head where it smashed into the oak from the bear's viscous strike. Kaito and Goran also gathered to where Jorges was shakily standing. Vera put her hand on Jorges arm, "Are you alright?"

Jorges was slow to answer. He spit blood from his mouth on the ground and wiped of the dirt off his arm, "I'm fine. Just a headache."

Goran nodded at his companion. He glanced at the enormous grizzly body next to them, "Nearly got the best of us. I've never seen such an aggressive animal."

Kaito inspected the carcass. Its upper chest was soaked in blood from Kaito's strike to its throat and it was frothing at the mouth, even after the rest of its body's functions had shut down. Vera interrupted Kaito's thoughts, "The pack doesn't often travel to Morgal woods. For good reason. When we do we meet rabid animals, dream water, or trap plants and every time we return it's worse. There is a dark power here. Or the remnants of one."

Jorges spoke in a quiet voice to prevent worsening his headache, "Probably has something to do with the ruins. We shouldn't be tampering with the ancients' holy places."

Kaito considered this. _If it was up to me the gathering wouldn't be here either. But the majority have wished for Morgal woods to be the beastmen tribe's meeting place._

Kaito signalled to his companions. He smelled for the blood of the victim tuning out the overwhelming smell of the grizzly's infected blood. He careered through the bush towards the grizzly's victim closely followed by his companions. He stopped without warning the others and they nearly crashed into each other before bracing themselves. Kaito turned to his right and pushed aside a large log. It was hiding the bear's victim as a method to protect it from scavengers.

The victim was a young human girl. _Probably from Bilibin. They had a large group pass near here recently… two days ago. She probably fell away from the main group. Of course the Bilibians will blame their boogeymen. Us. This unfulfilled tension can't go on forever. Soon they will seek us out. Soon they will hunt us._

It seemed that the rest of Kaito's companions came to the same conclusion. Vera knelt down and closed the girls still open eyes, "Another sign. War is coming. We must bring this to the attention of the tribe."

Kaito had nearly forgotten about the tribe. The more aggressive members would see this as more reason to attack pre-emptively. Kaito promised the holy trees that he wouldn't let it happen. He would elude a war at all costs. But what did Tret expect? Conflict was unavoidable. It was coming whether the beastmen wanted it or not and Kaito would not let his people be massacred.

* * *

Night had fallen swiftly in the thick of the woods. The beastmen tribe was finally collected for their second annual gathering. Kaito felt a heavy uneasiness in the air. He didn't like the ancient ruins where they were gathered. The others felt that the site was holy and a worthy gathering place. They believed that the site was the home of the beastmen's ancient ancestors. Kaito waited for his chance to bring up the rabid bear and the evil power at work.

Two beastmen were doing most of the talking. One was a large hulking beastmen named Klaus. He was the leader of the largest beastmen tribe. Most of the beastmen in his tribe came from northern Gondowan, in the Tolbi region. The other beastman was much older and lead another large tribe mostly originating from eastern Angara. Her name was Yulia and she was widely renowned for her wisdom. Among the tribe Kaito himself was the most respected followed by these two.

Kaito, being soft-spoken, typically let the other two do most of the talking and debating. Kaito didn't think that he offered the kind of wisdom that Klaus and Yulia did. Kaito found himself in his position of leadership by his sheer strength and power over the elements, powers that were unmatched by any beastman. Klaus and Yulia on the other hand earned leadership through wisdom.

Klaus was speaking now, his voice commanded attention, "It's long past time for the packs of our tribe to unite. We should form a nation. Our nomad lifestyle can't go on forever, soon the humans will begin to hunt us down. Isolated events have already happened. Last winter Boris' pack was ambushed by lumberjacks in Gondowan."

Klaus had been promoting the uniting of the beastmen packs for a long time. Kaito wasn't so sure. He agreed that the packs must remained allies with each other. They were stronger together then they ever could be apart. However Kaito didn't feel that a beastmen nation was a good idea. Ever since he was changed and banished from his old home he hated staying in one place for too long. The wilderness was Kaito's only home now. Most beastmen agreed with Klaus however. And Kaito couldn't blame them, they were terrified.

Yulia began to speak to the tribe. The beastmen listened to her as attentively as they had been listening to Klaus, "You know what me and my pack thinks Klaus. We wish to establish a nation as well. But we have already discussed the pros and cons in length. We should save the vote until the end of the gathering. Kaito, I have heard that there is something you wish to bring to the tribe's attention?"

Kaito stirred uncomfortably. He hated being put on the spot. Nonetheless he cleared his throat and tried his best to amplify his voice, "This morning my companions and I discovered a rabid bear and its victim; a small human girl. We fear that the humans will attribute this murder to us. And the bear was massive. Larger and more aggressive than any I have ever seen. I believe that these woods are cur-"

Kaito stopped half sentence. His sense of smell was suddenly overwhelmed. Almost immediately after he saw it. A pillar of smoke. And then there were flames, "Fire! Run north!"

Everything happened incredibly quickly. He barely heard Klaus shout, "To the bay!", as he rushed to find Vera. The beastmen men efficiently began to run north, remaining in one massive pack. Kaito dashed using roots and rocks to push off in successive forward leaps.

Fire began raining from the sky. It was spreading unnaturally fast. He saw a beastmen get hit by a burning arrow in the back. Kaito changed directions and headed toward the direction to head the downed beastmen. Just then another arrow struck the injured beastmen in the neck. The arrow was stuck in its victim's neck and its tip protruded bloodily out of the throat. _Fire arrows… it must be the Bilibians. We've been ambushed._

Kaito turned around to flee from the fire. An immense oak, one hundred feet tall at least crashed down in behind him nearly crushing him against the forest floor. He quickly turned around to see the tree. It was still engulfed in flames that nearly reached the tops of the still standing neighbouring trees. He heard a frantic shout from behind it, "Kaito!"

It was Vera's voice. He had to go back for her. But there was no way over the tree. Kaito turned left and right and quickly realized that the he would not be able to run around the fallen tree before Vera would be engulfed in the spreading fire behind them.

It seemed that Vera had already come to this conclusion. She was dashing up the nearest tree that wasn't yet engulfed. Kaito knew it was a band aid solution. He felt immensely powerless. "Vera!", he shouted in his grief.

"Go Kaito! The pack needs you!", Vera shouted down at him through the flames courageously.

The grief was overwhelming. Kaito had never felt such emotions since he was banished. The sadness was overcome by anger in an eerily uncontrollable fashion. His entire body tensed and he roared and the sky. _First they banish us from our homes. Curse us to a life of wandering exiles! And now they hunt us. It cannot end this way. It will not! I will not let it._

Kaito felt himself lose control of his body. His arms tensed above his head as if to call the gods themselves down to Weyard and he stood violently shaking atop a boulder. He felt the coolness of the wind on his face as the clouds began to gather. Then he felt water against his fur. The rain gained momentum incredibly fast. He was conjuring a storm.

The sound of a lightning bolt crashing into the earth forty feet from him nearly deafened Kaito. He still could not control his own movements. He could not control the storm but he knew it was coming from him. The rain began to overwhelm the fire and it stopped spreading. Lightning bolts succeeded each other in a rapid fashion cracking the trunks of hundred year old oak trees. Kaito could faintly hear the cries of the Bilibians in the distance. His vision went black.

* * *

He awoke after what felt like a second. But the rain had stopped and he had regained the control of his body. He was lying on the ground now next to his boulder. The forest was filled with fallen and charred trees. Kaito was being held in the arms of Vera, who had dried tears on her cheeks. Vera noticed that he had awoken.

"Are you alright Kaito?"

Kaito sat up slowly, "I'm okay. And you?"

Vera smiled, "I'm fine. You saved us Kaito. You saved us all."

Kaito felt uncomfortable wetness move from the grass to his legs. The ground was still soaking wet. He began to focus on his sense of smell. He smelt no humans for miles. The Bilibians must have retreated. Instead he smelled soaked and burnt wood. Overpowering that was the smell of beastmen. Thousands of beastmen. _Most of the tribe must have survived the attack._

Kaito slowly got to his feet. The tribesmen were much close than he thought. The entire tribe was there, waiting for him to wake up. Kaito of course couldn't see most of them, but they were spread out across the mutilated forst. The first to greet him were his loyal companions Jorges and Goran. The two hugged Kaito and thanked him profusely. Next was Klaus and Yulia.

Yulia smiled at Kaito, "Thank you Kaito. We all owe you a debt that we can never fully repay."

Klaus looked more serious. "Thank you Kaito", he repeated.

Kaito could see that the beastmen had something that they were hesitant to tell him. Finally Vera put her hand on his shoulder and spoke, "Kaito. The tribe has decided that, in the wake of the attack, we should form our nation."

Klaus continued, "The Morgal Nation in honour of the great and ancient woods where we were delivered from destruction."

Kaito didn't know what to say. Surely they were right to make the decision. The Bilibians had officially attacked and nearly finished off the Beastmen in one strike. They had to band together more tightly if they hoped to survive. But would a nation just further provoke Lord McCoy and Bilibin to war? And who could lead such a beastmen nation? Kaito somehow knew what was coming next.

Yulia looked seriously at Kaito, "The people have named you our new King. We would be honoured to be led into a new era by the powerful Kaito Father of Storms of the Czamaral clan."

* * *

_Thanks for reading! Next chapter will be Piers._


	6. Son of Lemuria

He wanted to be anywhere but there. Anywhere in the entirety of Weyard was better than the King's court where Conservato was babbling incoherent nonsense. Piers had no idea why King Hydros even kept the borderline insane senator around. Conservato had gotten impossibly more senseless since the Golden Sun rose and the sea of time decapitated five years before.

The King had summoned Piers to the map room as soon as he returned from his trip and the three, Piers, Conservato, and Hydros, sat in the king's map room, the very same where they conferred with Felix and his old companions years earlier. Piers was summoned by the King to discuss his trip. He had been investigating the new bay that had formed in northern Angara.

What was more fascinating to Piers was the visit to the fledging beastmen town of Belinsk, capital of the brand new beastmen nation, Morgal. The town was only a few months old but already an incredible work of architecture. Piers had a chance to meet with the brand new beastmen king, Kaito and his queen, Vera. He extended Lemuria's best wishes, delivered gifts, including a unique Lemurian sword encrusted with rare jewels, and an offer of alliance. Morgal's court was initially suspicious of Piers due to recent attacks from Bilibin. However King Kaito glowed at the opportunity to gain such a valuable alliance with the ancient sea nation. The beastmen King and Queen sent Piers back with gifts, most notably a Morgal sword with the insignia of the Mountain Roc in return for the Lemurian sword.

"That's more than enough senator. It's time I heard about Piers' trip," the King cut off Conservato somewhere in the middle of an extensive speech warning about the perils of being allied with the pirates of Champa.

Conservato stopped his mile a minute speech cold. The King turned his attention to Piers, "I didn't call you here before you got a chance to wash off the salt water for no reason Piers. I am eager to hear about the beastmen. Leave us Conservato."

Conservato scurried out murmuring to himself as if he was walking on coals. Piers spent the next half an hour recounting his trip to the good King. Hydros rarely interrupted with questions. When he was finished Piers presented the King with the Morgal sword. Hydros smiled and rested it point down in its sheath against his chair. He took a moment to consider Piers tale.

He sat stroked his long beard and finally responded, "An alliance with Morgal is an asset. However I fear that the Sanans or Bilibians might be unhappy to hear of such an alliance. Their rivalry with Morgal may result in a war. I hope that all three nations can respect our neutrality if it comes to that."

Piers often felt unworthy to be in Hydros court. The King often listened to Piers advice despite Piers not being a politician or even a tactician. Ever since the Golden Sun Event Piers encouraged the King to establish itself as a modern nation and the King listened. Lemuria had been trading and allying with the other nations of Weyard, in stark contrast to their isolationism of the past age. Piers was often seafaring soliciting these alliances but when he was in Lemuria the King treated him as his primary advisor, much to the dismay of Conservato.

Piers honestly didn't know how to respond to the King in times like these. He sometimes felt that the King respected Piers wisdom too much. The responsibility was a heavy weight to bear. Piers thought out his words and slowly responded, "In my limited knowledge, I don't think that any of the three nations would expect us to offer military aid in the event of a war. If they do I believe that our nation is nearly impregnable, especially considering they are all lacking in seafaring."

"I agree Piers. Will you be off soon then?" Hydros smiled as he replied. The King had given Piers nearly free reign in his ship. For the most part Piers was able to leave and return when he chose, although the King occasionally ordered Piers on a mission.

"If it's suitable to you, I will take my crew to the Apojii Islands to check in on their progress since the Golden Sun Event and the state of Aqua Rock."

Piers wanted to travel to the Apojii Islands for some time. He hadn't had a chance to return there since he journeyed there with Felix and the powerful Aqua Rock bestowed an ancient power upon Piers. Since then the eastern sea had changed immensely. A mid sea waterfall was starting to emerge effectively separating the sea into a southern and northern portion. However Piers knew of rapids where his ship could travel between the regions.

The King nodded, "It is suitable Piers, god-speed"

* * *

The sun was rising on the calm eastern sea creating an array of orange beams glimmering on the surface. Mornings like this were especially beautiful considering the fact that Lemuria was clouded in a sea of fog for thousands of years before the Golden Sun Event. Piers sat at the bow of his ship as his crew efficiently worked on readying the ship for travel. Not much work had to be done; the ship was operable by a single adept. Piers crew was mostly there for loading and unloading goods, and for security purposes.

Piers' back was suddenly pushed, "Are you gonna help or what Captain?"

Piers turned to see his most trusted companion and first mate, the talented Lemurian warrior Ned. Ned was a few hundred years Piers junior but the two were fast friends. The rest of Piers' crew knew that only Ned could joke around with the captain like that.

Piers laughed at his friend, "Of course not! That's why I'm captain!" Nonetheless Piers lifted himself from his perch and moved to help his crew load the crates of provisions onto the ship.

* * *

The Lemurian ship was gliding gracefully along the mid sea waterfall. Piers stood with his arms crossed resting against the ships railing staring south at the wonder. He had commanded one of his crew to take control of the ship and she was guiding it along the waterfall to find the rapids Piers had discovered the year before. _I hope they're still there. There might be no other way to sail to Apojii._

In his peripheral vision Piers saw something floating in front of the boat towards the waterfall. Piers quickly jogged to the front of his ship to get a better look. When he reached the bow he saw the front half of a mangled ship floating towards the waterfall. The bow was face down in the water and there was no mast. _Must have been quite the force to rip such a boat in half like that._

The broken ship swiftly reached the massive waterfall and crashed down it as pieces of drift wood flew up in each direction, some nearly reaching Piers' ship. Most of the crew stopped to watch the burst before getting back to their tasks. Piers remained standing on the bow of his ship looking out at the course set in front of him.

Ned approached Piers from behind. "Quite the wreck." he commented dryly.

Piers looked at his old friend. Ned had the face of a true Lemurian. He had Azure hair with yellowish brown eyes just like Piers' own. Unlike Piers however he was taller and wore his hair in a short cut. He wore traditional blue armour and head band of a Lemurian warrior with the Lemuria's trident insignia on his chest.

There were few that Piers trusted as much as he trusted Ned, among those were the Warriors of Vale and the King. The two had grown up close friends in Lemuria and when the King allowed Lemurians to leave their island nation after the Golden Sun Event Ned was first among those to sign up for Piers crew. The two had grown even closer in their five years of seafaring together.

"Looks like it was a Sanan vessel", Piers finally responded to his friend.

"Probably. But what could have possibly split it in half like that? Volcano?", Ned mentioned volcano before Piers could. During their voyages the two of them and Piers' crew witnessed many natural calamities in the wake of the Golden Sun Event. Volcanoes, tidal waves, earthquakes, landslides, hurricanes, tornadoes, among others. But the only one that would split a ship in half like that was a volcano. A hurricane or tornado would split the ship into a million pieces but a large piece of falling debris from a volcano might cleave the ship in two. Piers and Ned had come to the same conclusion.

"Either a volcano hit or an extremely powerful adept has something against the Sanans who were in that ship," Piers remarked.

Ned nodded slightly. It was more likely a volcano. Piers and his crew had yet to encounter such a powerful adept. "When we flee from one disaster another hits us in the face, how can we protect the people of Weyard?" Ned looked solemn.

A rush of guilt flooded Piers, an effect that Ned surely wasn't trying to achieve. The aftermath of the Golden Sun Event tormented Piers and probably the rest of the Warriors of Vale daily. While the people of Weyard generally lived more comfortably in the new age where food was available in greater abundance and the people living near Gaia Falls were saved from their imminent deaths or loss of home lands there were also many negative effects.

Thousands died from natural disasters as Weyard reinvented itself. Entire villages were wiped out. Empires were rising out of the dust and were imposing their will on smaller village and farm folk. The effects of the Golden Sun were both positive and negative. And being a seafarer Piers traveled through much of Weyard and saw these effects frequently. He was forced to regularly reflect on his decision to release Alchemy.

Ned seemed to sense his friend's pain, "Sorry Piers. I didn't mean to remind you."

Piers was silent for a moment before he responded, "Don't worry about it Ned."

Ned put his hand on Piers' shoulder, "You did the right thing; there was no other choice. And Weyard will fight through this."

Piers appreciated his friend's efforts to comfort him. But he wasn't so sure about Weyard. Sometimes it felt as if it was slowly being ripped apart. Perhaps the power of Alchemy was too much.

* * *

After a hard fought battle with the rapids Piers' crew finally made it to Apojii. And it was definitely worth it. The town was more beautiful than ever. Before the Golden Sun the Apojii were completely unaware that their town was at threat of being destroyed when Gaia Falls were receding but after it rose they took full advantage of its benefits.

Presently Piers walked with Ned along a thin dirt road towards one of the main weapon suppliers. His crew was spread around the town talking with the locals and buying supplies for the trek to Aqua Rock. The sun was at its highest point in the sky and its heat beat down heavily on the island paradise. Piers headband soaked up most of the sweat on his face.

Finally they arrived at the weapon supplier's shack. It was sturdily built, the very same shack that Piers visited with Felix and his other companions five years ago. Back then they had been looking for a new weapon for Felix, whose sword was lost when there ship was boarded by a legion of mermen shortly before their arrival on Apojii.

Ned opened the door and entered first quickly followed by Piers. Piers looked around the shop. It looked much the same as it had before. He couldn't know for sure but he thought that the shop owner was the same men he met the last time. The vendor had the same mustache and tan skin, but many in Apojii had that look. The only difference in the shop was a much greater array of weapons and armour along the back wall behind the shop owner.

"Welcome back Captain Piers, I'm honoured to have you in my store!" the vendor smiled broadly at Piers and bowed his head. Piers was taken aback that the vendor remembered him.

Piers laughed, "Good afternoon good sir, I'm surprised that you remember me! It's been five years since I've been to Apojii."

"Of course I remember you! We don't get Lemurians visiting every day. Of course back then I had no idea you were a Lemurian. But you still stood out. The lot of you did. The great Warriors of Vale. We are forever indebted to you for saving our island."

Piers was again taken aback. _They know more than I thought! _He queried the vendor, "News travels fast. How did you figure out that we were the Warriors of Vale?"

"As you said news travels fast. Even to Apojii. You and your old companions matched the description. And you traveled in that great ship. If I'm not mistaken it's the same ship docked outside now."

The man surprised Piers for a third time. Apparently Piers and his companions made quite the impression on the island town, "You have quite the memory sir. After our journey ended my companions returned to their homes leaving me as the sole owner of our ship."

"And what has become of Felix and the others?"

"Felix and Jenna live in central Angara watching over an important site there. Sheba lives in Lalivero now. And Kraden… the old man is all over the place. We keep in contact with pigeons still. Last I heard he was in Tolbi."

"Incredible!" the vendor seemed legitimately delighted to hear Piers' update. _To the people of Apojii we are heroes, maybe even legends._

"Captain Piers, the rest of the townspeople and I wish to gift you any supplies you may need for your journey. We are honoured to have you here." the vendor solemnly bowed.

_They can't afford that. Besides I have more than enough to pay. _"I appreciate that but it won't be necessary. You're hospitality is gift enough."

"We insist!" the vendor looked as if he wasn't going to give up easily. _Maybe I'll have to leave the gold somewhere without him noticing._

Piers smiled at the vendor not looking to argue. He had Ned carry a massive bushel of arrows in his pack from the vendors stock. Piers finished his business with the vendor as the Apojii man sharpened his daggers against the large block of wet stone he had stored in the back.

Piers thanked the vendor again and shook his hand. He and Ned made their way out of the shop and back onto the street. When they reached the shop's small patio Piers was yet again surprised. Outside stood half the town in the street. Men, women, and children. They were gathered together with most of Piers' crew. The group stood conversing and exchanging gifts. Many of Piers' people were already wearing traditional Apojii garments and jewelry. It seemed to Piers that they were waiting for Ned and him to emerge from the kind vendors shop. The vendor himself walked out of his shop behind Piers and joined the gathering.

From the crowd Piers saw a short man emerge. He had a bushy mustache and a walking stick. Piers recognized him instantly as one of Apojii's chief was pleasantly surprised that he was doing so well recognizing the Apojii people. _I guess Apojii made an impact on me too._

"Captain Piers! We are honoured to have you in Apojii once again. The entire town owes you a debt that we can surely never fully repay. Please accept these gifts from us to you and your crew." the elder spoke as if he prepared for days. As he spoke another one of the elders presented Piers with a ring. It was gold banded with a rare blue stone encrusted on it. Piers could feel the power of the elements, particularly water, fused with the stone. _It must be a piece of Aqua Rock itself. Very expensive to mine. But I can't possibly not accept it._

"Thank you! Thank you all for your hospitality." Piers spoke loud enough so that the townspeople could hear and put his new ring on as he spoke. He could feel the power of the ring merge with his own making him stronger.

The crowd began to converse amongst each other again; many Apojii people shot Piers awed glances. The short elder quickly approached Piers and spoke candidly, "Thank you for returning captain. It means a lot to Apojii."

Piers was put on the spot again. He didn't know how to respond to such deep gratitude and awe. He felt unworthy; he was only one small part in the group that saved Weyard and by extension Apojii. _I guess I should count my blessing. It's not every day that people look upon the Warriors of Vale like this. Most just blame us for the disasters._

"It's no problem. We're just here to check up on the island and Aqua Rock. I never expected such a reception." Piers responded humbly. The elder looked surprised. _He must not realize that most of Weyard thinks we're power hungry villains._

"Well please feel free to use our humble town as a base."

With that the elder bowed lowly and left the crowd. The rest of the elders succeeded him. They thanked Piers profusely, bowed lowly, and left the crowd following the first. After that it was a free for all as the townspeople thanked Piers and gave him an array of homemade gifts. Piers grew tired of the thanks. The praise made him feel uncomfortable.

* * *

It continued on like that for the better part of the day. Some of the townspeople brought Piers' crew Apojii delicacies: fried rice, breaded shrimp, and salted clams. Apojii made good seafood and it made the day a bit more bearable for Piers. _Standing in the sun and accepting gifts is hard work, _Piers laughed to himself.

At last the gathering was over as the hot Apojii sun mercifully began to set behind the horizon cooling the salty air. Piers and Ned began to walk towards short elder's house. The inn was too small to hold Piers' entire crew so the elder had offered to have Piers and Ned stay in his own home. A beautifully built cottage that overlooked Gaia falls from the top of the Apojii hill.

"I told you it was worth it," Ned said at his captain. He was of course referring to lighting the Mars beacon, "just like I said on the ship. If you hadn't this entire island would have been lost."

Piers didn't know how to respond. He was feeling a lot of that today. _He just wants to help. But he doesn't understand that guilt that comes when you see thousands die and know that it's your fault._ Ned didn't push Piers to respond and they continued down the gravel path up the hill. The sun was setting on the island in a beautiful array of pink and red.

Piers felt a tug at the bottom of his tunic. He turned around quickly but saw no one. Looking down he discovered a little girl with long messy dark brown hair. She wore a simple dress and in her hand was a stuffed toy lamb that was worse for wear.

Piers knelt down, "Hi, what's your name?"

The little girl spoke quietly, "I'm Hala."

"And my name is Piers. Very nice to meet you Hala." Piers smiled as he put out his hand to shake. Hala looked shy again but after a moment of thought she accepted his handshake with vigour.

"And why are you out so late without your parents Hala? Should we bring you home?"

Hala stuck out her arm and offered Piers her toy lamb. He accepted confusedly. "He is for you. Thank you captain Piers." The young girl spoke barely audibly. She smiled slightly as she spoke. _She must have heard her parents talk about me._

"Thank you very much Hala. Shall we bring you home now?"

Piers offered to give her a ride on his shoulders to which she giddily accepted. The three, Piers, Ned, and Hala, walked back down the hill towards the main part of town. On the walk Hala grew less and less reserved. She told Piers and Ned at length about her games and her friends. Piers kept the lamb in his left hand as they walked. Being a young child her method of describing her house was less than helpful but they found it eventually. When they arrived Hala's parents thanked Piers and Ned copiously for bringing back their daughter safely.

Piers and Ned finally made their way up the hill towards the elder's house. When he arrived at his room Piers stuffed the toy lamb into his pack. _Maybe Ned's right._

* * *

The next morning Piers' and his crew were off. Aqua Rock was still unreachable from Apojii by land but it was only a short sail away. The plan was to investigate the elemental rock for any changes, spend the night at Apojii again, and head back to Lemuria the next morning. And the plan was going smoothly. Piers crew had already swiftly dealt with a few sea monsters that had attempted to board. The Apojii's vendor's arrows were coming in use already.

"We're about to land captain!" shouted one of his crew from the bow of the ship.

Piers nodded at the man and ran to the inside of his ship to tell Ned. Ned was sitting with a few other sailors contemplating an old map of the Eastern Sea. It looked like they were tried to map the path that the mid sea waterfall took.

"We're about to land men." Piers notified his men. Ned sprang up first followed by the other sailors. Piers lead them up the stairs to the ship's deck. By the time they reached the deck the ship was already beached and the crew was dropping down ladders to climb down on. The view of the magnificent Aqua Rock was clearer than it had been in Apojii. The flat topped mountain was surrounded by palm trees and rivers flowing from it.

"So this is the legendary Aqua Rock?" Ned sounded genuinely amazed.

Piers laughed, "Now can you see why I wanted to come here so badly?"

The trek to the mountains side went smoothly. Piers led the crew through the dense jungle and rivers. Being a water adept made it easy for him to lead the crew over the streams that flowed from the Aqua Rock. They were encountered by a few monsters on the way. Piers dealt with them easily with the help of such a large party.

When they arrived at the rock Piers was glad that it wasn't the first time he had visited Aqua Rock. The doorway was still unlocked from the last time he was there. The puzzles and traps of Aqua Rock wouldn't have to be repeated. Piers' crew stood as Piers inspected the ancient inscriptions on the door.

"Are we going in Captain?" Ned spoke after a few minutes of Piers examining the door.

"Wait a moment!" Piers laughed. He liked to inspect the ruins he came across. The mystery of the ancients was a hard one to crack but Piers and Kraden among others had been working at it for a long time. Piers of course noticed connections in the rock's inscriptions to the other two elemental rocks he visited. He had noticed these connections on his first visit to Aqua Rock. However this time Piers noticed what looked like an inscription of Poseidon the sea god. _Could it be that the ancient Lemurians hollowed out Aqua Rock?_

Piers felt that he learned all he could from the ruins and made a mental note to send Kraden a pigeon. He slowly placed a palm on the center of the door which was decorated with a large water drop that signified Mercury. The drop glowed blue and he heard the slow movement of slabs from within the rock. After a minute the door gradually slid inside the wall to the left.

The inside of Aqua Rock was pitch dark very much unlike Piers previous visit. "Is it supposed to be that dark?" Ned asked his captain.

Piers didn't have a chance to respond as a jet of ice flew from within the door hitting him square in the chest. He was blasted into a rock that jutted out of the mountain. His vision went dark for a split second before he came to face down in the shallow water that flowed from the rock. He heard the sound of swords being unsheathed as his crew armed themselves.

Piers quickly lifted himself from the ground and drew his Lemurian blade while turning towards the door. A giant sea dragon was slithering its way out of Aqua Rock. Just its head was an immense six feet wide. Before Piers had the chance to unleash a djinn on the beast his crew had already reacted sending five arrows at the beast. Each one lodged itself in the dragons head. Piers unleashed Chill on the monster to finish it. A blast of pure Mercury energy filled the air as Piers sword fused with Chill and met the head of the massive beast.

The beast cried out in pain and slinked back into the doorway from which it came. Piers' people shouted in victory. But Piers wasn't prepared to celebrate yet, "Brace yourselves!" Piers' swordsmen lifted swords in a defensive stance and his archers loaded their bows ready to unleash. Ned stood low to the ground with his two handed sword pointed at the doorway.

Suddenly another blast of ice, ten times the size of the last, came from the door. Four of Piers' swordsmen were knocked aside and unarmed. The rest were blinded by the storm of ice shards that filled the air. Piers could barely see the shape of the gigantic monster emerge from the door. Piers heard a violent crunch and the cry of one of his crew.

Finally the ice storm ended and Piers sprung at the dragon sword swinging. He sliced the beast on its back leg but it didn't seem to notice. Piers' crew quickly surrounded the dragon but it was of no use. The monster seemed to have an endless supply of limbs as it swung wildly knocking the Lemurians around like twigs. The vision of the dragons bloodied teeth flashed before Piers' eyes as he desperately tried to hold it back. The mangled body of one of Piers' men crashed down before his feet.

Piers cried out in primal anger and unleashed a sword of pure ice aimed at the heart of the dragon. The sword crashed against the monster's chest throwing it into the jungle below crushing tens of palm trees. The monster quickly crawled into the nearest river flowing from Aqua Rock and began vigorously swimming away from Aqua Rock. _There's only one place it can be going._

Piers looked around the entrance of the mountain. There were at least five dead and many more injured. He thought quickly and shouted instructions, "Five of you stay with the injured, the rest come with me! Go!"

Piers dashed away from the rock and into the palm tree forest. He was of course closely followed by Ned and most of his surviving crew. _We have to get to the ship. I can't let it get to Apojii._

* * *

Piers sat restlessly on the bow of his ship. The ship was moving as fast as possible towards Apojii and there was nothing Piers could do until he got there. He found that this made him feel uncomfortable powerless so he spent the time searching the sea for signs of the monster. He hadn't seen the beast since the encounter at Aqua Rock. His crew stood uneasily on his ship. _They're mourning the loss of their friends. What will I tell the King? How could I let this happen? I've dealt with countless monsters before. I can't let this go any further. Surely my ship should outrun the revolting creature. So where the hell is it?_

"Have you seen it captain?" Ned was itching to dig his sword in the head of the creature. None were more loyal than Ned. He would do anything to avenge his mates.

"No. Don't worry Ned. We'll get the bastard." Piers wouldn't settle for anything less.

"It's bigger than anything I've ever seen. Did you see anything like it last time?" Ned was of course referring to Pier' last trip to Aqua Rock.

"There were sea dragons that looked a lot like it. But they were much much smaller."

Piers had a horrific realization. The creature must have been a result of the Golden Sun Event. Restoring Alchemy to Weyard had the greatest effects on places of great and ancient elemental powers, like Aqua Rock. The monsters there must be feeding off the new power, growing unnaturally large.

Piers grimaced. Yet another disaster caused by the release of Alchemy. _What have I done?_

* * *

Piers' heart sank. The town was destroyed. The thatch houses were rubble and the dock was unusable. Two feet of water flooded the entire down. Large chunks of ice that must have come from the monster floated in the water. _It will pay for this._

The destruction of the dock meant that Piers' ship had to land on the beach like it did on the Aqua Rock island. Piers sprinted down the ladder followed by his crew. He ran sword drawn towards the village.

Piers reached the village to find no signs of the dragon besides the destruction it had clearly caused. They found no bodies which gave Piers reason to hope. He ordered his men to spread out and look for the beast or survivors. Piers entered the house of the weapon vendor which was still standing despite the roof being completely blown off. He stepped carefully through the sludge that came about when the water mixed with the dirt roads of the town.

Piers saw a glimmer of red in the water in the vendor's broken shop. Immediately after he saw out of the corner of his eye a large ice block. He inspected it to see the vendor frozen solid. Piers knelt down in the water beside the vendor's corpse. On the man's torso Piers noticed a large gash. He must have given the beast quite the fight. Merely one day before the man welcomed him to a vibrant and glowing Apojii. _How could I let this happen?_

"Survivor!" Piers heard a shout coming from near the hill. He ran towards its source. The woman of his crew who shouted was with the mustached elder from the day before. He looked solemn.

"We noticed you had come so I was sent down the hill to tell you what happened. The monster crushed our town. It came suddenly. But most of us were able to escape due to the valiant efforts of a few brave ones. Including Henry." the elder struggled to get the words out. Dried tears reddened his Apojii bronze cheeks.

"The weapons vendor?" somehow Piers knew who the elder was talking about. The short man nodded slightly. "Go back up to the hill. We'll find the monster and kill it. Then you can return to rebuild." The elder nodded and walked up the hill.

Just then Piers heard another shout. But this one was of no particular word. It was another shout of anguish from one of his crew. Piers quickly set four of his djinn to standby and prepared to summon the Boreas spirit on the mammoth creature. He sprinted down the hill towards the sound of the call.

When he got there he saw Ned going toe to toe with the beast. Ned was a great fighter and a good adept but the beast was too much for him. He was barely avoiding the monster's onslaught of attacks. Piers rushed to get in between them but it was too late. A shard of ice struck Ned penetrating his thigh.

The monster moved in to crush Ned but Piers swiftly used his djinn to summon Boreas. The spirit appeared as a mechanical beast. It charged and slammed its body into the sea dragon before decapitating. The sea dragon's hulking body crashed into the ground sending a massive wave of water in every direction of the flooded town. Piers drew his sword preparing to finish the beast.

The dragon got up quickly and shot its head teeth flared towards Piers in a wild motion of fury. Piers swiftly side stepped the dragon and now he had a clear shot at its scaly neck. He unleashed Chill to strengthen his blow. His Lemurian blade glowed blue with the elemental power of water and he sliced downwards at the monsters neck. It only took one strike. The monster's head was cleaved off clean.

* * *

Piers made his way up the hill slowly helping the limping Ned. Ned had his left arm and shoulder supported by Piers. On Ned's right was another of Piers' surviving crew. The sun was starting to set on the long day. Piers tasted blood in his mouth as he painstakingly trekked the hill path towards the haven of the Apojii survivors.

By the time they reached the top the sun had set and the Apojii night was beginning. Piers saw a series of torches being lit. The light that they shed revealed the town's survivors. Men and women sat huddled around fires. Makeshift tents were set up to house the survivors. The children mourned and as parents tried to console. Piers had never witnessed a sight so heartbreaking before. _How could I let this happen?_

He couldn't help but think of the night five years earlier atop the Mars Lighthouse. Felix, Jenna, and Isaac mourned the loss of their parents. He had no idea how to console them. But it ripped his heart open to see his friends that way. When he looked at the faces of the Apojii townspeople he felt the same way. But their loved ones weren't coming back.

Two Apojii men stood up to meet Piers and took Ned off his hands. "We will treat his wounds," they assured Piers. Piers reluctantly let his friend go. _They still want to help us? Don't they realize that the beast was my fault?_

Piers slowly wandered along the temporary village not wanting to sit down or lie down. His guilt consumed him. He relived the fight atop the lighthouse, the decision to cast the stone, and the fights against the sea dragon over and over in his head. _How could I let this happen? I should have stopped it._

Piers traveled away from the tents towards a row of torches numbering twelve. He knew what they were but he walked towards them anyways. He had to look on their faces.

When he reached the torches he saw twelve bodies. Victims of the sea dragon. The body of Henry was the first. The Apojii men or Piers' crew must have retrieved it after the sea dragon was slain. Piers walked along the row blessing each body as he past them.

Finally he reached the end of the line and there lay the body of a young girl with a plain dress. Hala. Piers felt an overwhelming sadness rush over him. The weight of the deaths of his crew, the death of Henry, and the death of the innocent girl crashed into his gut like a blast of ice. _How could I let this happen? These people praised me and I let them down. I could have stopped the monster. I should have stopped it._

He knelt down beside Hala's body, her eyes were already closed. Piers closed his own eyes and held the tiny hand of the girl. He prayed a blessing for her. Piers began to think irrationally in his grief. _How could I let this happen? We shouldn't have lit the beacon. If we hadn't Apojii surely would have survived at least a few more generations. Gaia falls was receding very slowly. Hala would have lived to her old age. She would have had grandchildren._

Piers reached into his pack. His fingertips searched until they felt the softness of worn fabric. He pulled out Hala's toy lamb, the gift he had been given by the innocent child, and placed it beside her.

* * *

_Hey thanks for reading! Leave a review if you want. Next story is about Jenna._


	7. Luna Ring

The sound of armor clanking loudly against a wooden table in the adjacent room abruptly interrupted Jenna's sleep. _Felix must be back._ The air in the small cabin room where Jenna was lying in bed was wintery cold and moved around the room creating an uncomfortable breeze much unlike the warm and stagnant air that the cabin's fireplace had provided the night before. Jenna wasn't in the same room as the fire but she didn't need to be a Mars adept to sense that it had gone out in the night.

She moved her knees up to her chest, holding them there with her arms, and she clutched the thick wool blanket dragging it over her body so that only the top of head stuck out. Her unkempt red hair rested wildly in every direction. Jenna was too exhausted to even pull the rogue strands out of her mouth.

A slow stirring came from beside her. "Jenna," a voice whispered. Jenna smiled as she felt warm breath on the back of her neck. Two arms slowly moved around her and she felt the warmth of her husband's body against her. His hand gently brushed the hair out of her face. Six years since the Golden Sun, and one year since their marriage but Jenna was still occasionally surprised, the best of ways, to wake up next to him.

"Are you awake?" Isaac whispered.

"Yup," Jenna spoke lightly and turned her face towards Isaac's kissing him softly, "my brother must be back. Besides talking he can't do anything quietly." Isaac smiled and laughed lightly.

Isaac shivered, "The fire must have gone out in the night." Jenna nodded. Isaac was just then noticing the cold air in the cabin. Being a fire adept meant that Jenna was more susceptible to cold. Isaac stretched his arms and turned away from Jenna, "I'll go start it up."

"No I'll do it. I want to see Felix anyways." Jenna threw the blanket off and jumped out of bed before her husband could argue.

The winter cold consumed cabin air and chilled her bones. In just her nightdress she quickly scampered across the floor towards her wardrobe to find something warmer. The wooden floor somehow felt like cold stone against her bare feet. She grabbed a long wool coat from the wardrobe, the same she wore for traveling in the winter, and pulled it on hood and all. The inside was still cold but soon the heat from her body warmed it. Now her feet were the only problem.

She pulled on wool socks nearly an inch in thickness. They quickly filled with the same warmth as her jacket. She looked at the bed and noticed Isaac was sleeping again. She scuttled over and kissed him on the cheek before walking out of their room and into the cabin's main area.

When she entered the main room she had to a lot to take in very quickly. It was completely different than she left it. The large oak table was covered with equipment: leather wine skins and packs, maps, daggers, rope, and Garet's battle axe. Garet towered over the table with his hands resting on it. He pondered a map of the local area recently drawn up by Ivan. He was covered head to toe in his equipment. He wore his own traveling coat and massive winter boots. His hood pushed down his regularly spikey hair and red bangs shot awkwardly out of the front.

He looked up at Jenna as she entered the room and began to laugh irrepressibly. Jenna flushed with fiery anger. "You woke us up you oaf!" Garet continued to laugh throwing back his head which knocked off his hood and revealed his pushed down crimson hair, "What is so funny?"

"Look at you!" Garet nearly shouted it. Jenna looked down at herself without thinking. Her long socks were pulled up to just below her knee, and just above that sat the bottom of her coat allowing a sliver of bare skin. She must have looked ridiculous to Garet emerging out of her room in just the jacket and socks with no other equipment. She allowed herself the slightest smirk.

"So that was you that woke me up? With the incessant clanking? Felix isn't back yet?" she temporarily forgot her exasperation but continued to hound Garet.

"Yea," Garet barely responded as he continued to look over the map, "I'm going for a hunt. And verify this map that Ivan sent us."

"Isn't it a bit early?"

"I couldn't sleep in the cold."

Now Jenna had a brand new reason to be infuriated with the oaf, "Garet! What's wrong with you! You were up this whole time and you didn't think to get the fire going!?"

"I was just leaving anyways." With that he smiled and waved at Jenna casually walking out the cabin's door and into the blue. _He knows how to rile me up. And he thinks it's funny._

Jenna took a minute to cool down but she found herself thinking about Felix again very quickly. He left the cabin the night before. He often left for days or even weeks at a time. In recent years his trips had grown more frequent and greater in length. When he was around he was distant and despondent. _If Garet was making all the noise than Felix still isn't back._

Jenna climbed up the cabin's stairs and headed towards Felix's room. The room was nearly completely empty. Felix owned very few processions and those that he did own were mostly the essentials, things that he would need with him on a long trip. Jenna scurried over to his night table as her fuzzy wool socks created friction with the hard wood floor. On the table sat a ring inscribed with the Luna symbol; a gift to Felix from their father and an ancient heirloom of their family. It sat in the same spot each time Felix left the cabin on an unannounced trip. According to Ivan the ring was likely thousands of years old. To Jenna it simply served as an unspoken message from Felix: he would be back for his ring. Jenna let go of the breath she hadn't realized she was holding as her balmy fists slowly unclenched.

* * *

Jenna wrapped her scarf three times around her neck and mouth to prevent the winter winds from blowing into her coat. Isaac was kneeling next to him tying the thick leather laces of his huge winter boots. Jenna's own boots were already on and the tightness of the laces made it as if the boots were merging into her feet. Isaac stood up and stretched his back.

"Ready?" his voice sounded muddled through his heavy scarf.

"Yup." Jenna smiled back at Isaac without realizing that her scarf covered her mouth.

"Let's go then." Isaac opened the door and stepped out into the foot deep snow. A light but chilling breeze blew into the cabin. Jenna hurriedly dashed out the door and shut it behind her to keep the cold out.

Isaac looked far and long both ways, "Do you know which way he went?" Jenna and her husband were looking to meet up with Garet and help him scout the Mount Aleph crater.

"He took a left out the door. Didn't look to see after that."

Isaac sighed, "Out and into the blue without telling us again. I might be getting tired of that."

Jenna let out a short and sudden laugh, "It's about time! I don't know how you can be so patient with his antics."

The lightest of snowflakes fell gently from the sky. They melted as they softly hit the uncovered part of Jenna's face; a fire burned within her. The path was completely full of snow and as per usual the terrain was too dangerous to attempt to make it to Mount Aleph. Jenna and Isaac began their multi day circle of Mount Aleph sticking to open areas hoping that Garet would spot them.

The trip was much quieter than usual. Thoughts of Jenna's brother consumed her mind. Felix's last unannounced trip was merely a week before. _Why is he leaving so often? He hasn't been the same since Prox. Since we lit the beacon._

"Are you doing okay Jenna?" Isaac looked over at Jenna with concerned eyes as the two slowly trudged through piles of snow.

"I'm fine."

"Is it about Felix?" Isaac was never one to push things but he had learnt that he needed to do just that with Jenna. When the two officially began their relationship shortly after their quest six years ago there was a steep learning curve for Isaac. Jenna, self-admittedly, was often stubborn about sharing her feelings, besides flashy irritation, especially with Garet's antics. So Isaac sometimes needed to push, often with adverse effects, to get Jenna to open up to him.

This time however Jenna was more than willing to share exactly what she was feeling. She nodded at Isaac and after a while she began, "He's been leaving far too often. And he never tells us where he went."

Isaac nodded, saying nothing. Jenna continued, "I'm just worried about him Isaac. He has been so different since the Mars Lighthouse. Since the doom dragon, and since…" Jenna trailed off.

"Since Karst?" Isaac finished for her. Although Felix never said as much it had long been Jenna's theory that he and Karst had been an item during Felix's three years in Prox. During their quest Felix had grown intensely quiet when they encountered Karst and her comrade Agatio, both before and after his group's uniting with Isaac's group. He reluctantly fought her on the Jupiter Lighthouse eyrie and Jenna could see that it pained Karst as well.

"I don't think he's forgiven himself. He thinks what happened to Karst is his fault. Our fault."

Isaac nodded, "Probably. But we had no choice. I can't imagine what it must be like for him though. Losing his love… and he thinks it's his fault."

Jenna felt sympathy for her brother too. But over the years much of her sympathy was slowly turning to anger. An anger that Isaac couldn't understand because Felix wasn't his brother. Suddenly Jenna's heart flushed with fury and sorrow; _He's tearing our family apart. Mom and Dad don't know what to do. They want to help him but they can't. He's breaking their hearts._

* * *

"Hey-o!" a shout filled the frigid air around Jenna. It felt to her like it was coming from every direction. A tall and oafish man sprinted towards them flinging snow six feet in every direction with each step. Garet.

"Garet! Where have you been!" Isaac just laughed. Despite her deep irritation with Garet, Jenna couldn't help but smile at their goofy friend as well.

* * *

Jenna sat staring into the crackling fire with a blanket and coat draped over her as she rubbed her hands by the flames for warmth. Nearby Isaac and Garet were sleeping huddled under blankets. They had decided to make camp for the night under a large overhanging rocky cliff. The flames danced creating flickers on the side of the cliff. Jenna had found that her thoughts denied her sleep so she crawled out from next to her husband to sit nearer to the fire.

He hands waved and the flames flickered following her motions. Bending and twisting the flames not only soothed Jenna but it warmed her spirit and body. She quickly found that the stressful thoughts were clearing from her mind being replaced by a calm warmth. The sound of a light but distinctly human footstep broke Jenna out of her trance.

Her head swiveled rapidly but quietly as she attempted to make out the source of the disturbance but nothing was to be seen. She heard the crunching of snow that signified another footstep. Carefully, she stood up, her heavy blanket sliding off her back and onto the snow covered ground. She slowly moved to the side of the cliff where her walking staff was rested.

She clutched the staff in her right hand and using psynergy she lit the end with a bright light giving flame that did not consume the rest of the staff. Cautiously, she started to move towards the source of the footsteps. Her left hand gripped her still sheathed sword will her right used the staff to cast light.

To her left she saw the shadow of a man being cast by the bright full moon. She quickly turned to cast the light of her staff onto the stranger. There her brother, Felix, stood caught like a dear in the headlights turning his head to shield his eyes from the intrusive light of her staff. In his arms was the body of a young woman wrapped in blankets.

"It's you," Jenna let out a gasp of relief. She paused a moment to collect her thoughts as Felix brushed snow off his arm, "where _were_ you? And who is that?"

Felix didn't answer the question, "It's good to see you to Jenna." Felix gently rested the body on the snow. The light cast from Jenna's staff allowed her to get a good look at her. She had long red hair, and a beautiful face. She vaguely reminded Jenna of someone. Her eyes were closed and Jenna could sense that she had passed away some time ago. She glanced at Felix. He knelt by the girl holding her hand. His eyes were even more downcast and serious than usual.

Jenna's harsh and questioning mood dissolved into empathy for her brother. She knelt down on the ground beside her brother, snow began to soak through her pants and cool her knees, "What happened?"

"I was coming back to the cabin from the north. And then I found her. Only a few miles north of here. She was still alive but freezing. She could barely talk. She only said that she was separated from her group. I tried to save her Jenna."

Jenna put her hand on her brother's shoulder. He bowed his head, "I couldn't save her Jenna."

Jenna didn't know how to deal with this. Her brother rarely showed so much emotion. She glanced over at her husband's face. Still fast asleep. Garet was snoring loudly. Finally she looked back at Felix and then at the girl. She had incredibly pale skin. Then it hit Jenna who the girl reminded her of. Karst. The facial features weren't all the same but the pale skin and red hair was remarkably similar. _He's putting this girls death on him. Just like he put Karst and Agatio's death on him. And of course this girl is reminding him of them. She's reminding him of what he thinks was his greatest failure._

Jenna felt she had to help her brother, "Are you thinking about her?"

Felix didn't respond but of course he knew what she was talking about. Jenna continued, "Felix, it wasn't your fault. We had no choice."

"I had a choice. I knew it was her."

"Felix! What other option was there? Let them destroy us and Weyard?"

"They wanted to save Weyard."

Jenna shifted uncomfortably. She let his statement go unanswered for a long while. Both brother and sister stared into the fire not speaking. Finally Jenna responded with a soft voice, "But that's not how it happened. There's no point dwelling on things that were never in our power to change."

Felix shuddered as a cold wind blew through making the camp fire blaze tall, "I can't not dwell on it! Don't you get it? I loved them Jenna. And I let them die… I lived in Prox for three years. They were my _family_."

Suddenly Jenna felt an uncontrollable rush of anger flow through her. All her resentment against Felix was spilling out wildly, "We're your family Felix! And you can't keep leaving us like this. You're gone for days at a time. You don't tell anyone where you're going or if you'll even be back. You're abandoning us! Do you even care how mom and dad feel?"

Felix didn't respond, instead he simply bowed his head not looking Jenna in the eye. After a short pause Jenna continued unrelentingly, "Of course you don't."

Jenna cringed. She immediately regretted saying it. She had gone too far. Felix slowly lifted his head still not speaking. He had reverted to his usual quiet self. Using a blast of earth psynergy he carved a hole into the ground. He gently picked up the body of the girl and placed it inside filling it back with another blast of psynergy.

* * *

Jenna woke up in her cabin bed before dawn. This time the fire was still lit and she felt very warm in her wool blanket. Felix had accompanied the group for the rest of their scouting mission after the fight and returned to the cabin with them. He had been disturbingly quiet throughout the trip but Jenna couldn't bring herself to bring up their fight. _I should have tried to talk to him again._

Jenna quietly pushed the blanket aside and sat up on her bed. Slowly she placed her feet on the warm cabin floor. She turned over to look at her husband who was still sleeping. Silently she got stood up and headed to the cabin's kitchen.

Arriving in the cabin's main room Jenna discovered that someone had recently left. It was Felix. His boots were gone and the remnants of his breakfast along with various maps were still spread across the table. _We just got back. How could he leave us again?_

Jenna climbed up the stairs again to check Felix's room. The stairs creaked loudly as she tried not to wake Isaac and Garet. Finally she arrived opening the door slowly. The room was completely empty. Glancing at the night table she saw that it was devoid of any objects. Not even Felix's ring.

* * *

_Thanks a lot for reading! Next chapter will be about Iodem and the Tolbi Colosso._


	8. The Pride of Tolbi

The crowd roared and cried in deafeningly loud unison as the fire ball ascended into the air, growing ever larger. Beneath it the adept's muscles tensed as he struggled to maintain control of the spectacle. Sparks flew of harmlessly into the massive crowd that filled the coliseum far past its intended capacity. Every one of them was standing and shouting in a mix of wild excitement and fear.

Iodem stood in his booth along with several other imperial nobles and Tolbi guards. He clapped politely at the adept's fireball show. Glancing over to his right he couldn't manage to catch the eye of his guards, all of whom were attentively scanning the crowd for potential threats.

Suddenly the fireball burst into a series of deep red and gold explosions, the Tolbi Empire's national colours. All around the bursting fireball banners were being waved, banners that displayed the imperial insignia. Colosso's opening ceremony had increasingly become a nationalist spectacle since the Golden Sun. After the establishment of the empire the event became a way to showcase the power of Tolbi to the rest of the world.

Iodem glanced around at the other booths. Royalty from across Weyard occupied them. He could make out the King Susa of Nihan and his sister Uzume at the far side of the coliseum. Moving his eyes clockwise around the stadium Iodem saw the King of Alhafra, Lord and Lady McCoy from Bilibin, Master Hammet and Lady Layana from Kalay across the Karagol, and even a Lemurian nobleman. Finally he saw the Sanan Emperor, Ko, standing surrounded by servants in the coliseum's second finest booth, behind Iodem's own booth. _Even the arrogant Emperor Ko comes to pay respect to Tolbi. As he should._

At length the banner waving stopped. All over the crowd the coliseum's attendants frantically covered torches so that only Iodem's booth remained lit. Iodem couldn't see it but he knew that all eyes were now on him. _Time for the welcome._

"Welcome, people of Tolbi, and people of Angara, Gondowan, Indra, Osenia, Atteka, Nihan, and Hesperia, to the one hundred and seventy-sixth Colosso!" Iodem's initial statement was of course met by thunderous applause, as it was every year. When it died down Iodem continued, "To our guests, Tolbi is truly honoured to host you for the remainder of the games. To our contestants, good luck! May your paths be true."

Right on cue the lights on the coliseum floor lit up, one torch rapidly succeeding the other creating the illusion of a circle being drawn around the stadium playing field. From one of the lower doors of the floor the contestants walked out waving at the crowd as the stadium filled with cries and cheers. Iodem counted a whopping one hundred and eight contestants, more than the Colosso had ever had. Ever since the Golden Sun Event seven years ago travel throughout Weyard had become easier and the Colosso had become even more of an event.

Gradually Iodem began to hear a chant rise above the haphazard cries from the audience. While at first hard to make out the chant quickly became unmistakable. The crowd's voices combined into a low and rumbling mass. Eventually nearly the entire audience joined in the chant: "Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram…"

In the centre of the coliseum a massive warrior stood arms raised to the sky covered head to toe in armour. Two ram horns protruded from his helmet and his face was concealed. But his identity was definite: it was the Ram. The great Tolbi warrior won his nickname along with the allegiance of Tolbi last year when he charged his way through the competition to effortlessly win the Colosso. Iodem smiled. _The pride of Tolbi._

* * *

Tiny pieces of stone and gravel crunched under Iodem's feet as he walked with his escort through the lower walkways and tunnels of the coliseum. The stadium's walkways were more trodden during the Colosso and as a result the stones cracked creating an abundance of loose pebbles. Every year more repairs had to be made on the aging structure after the wear and tear of Colosso. _Not even the great Tolbi coliseum can last forever. Perhaps it's time to rebuild completely._

"Your Imperial Majesty, we've arrived." An escort seemed nervous to even be speaking to Iodem.

Iodem looked around the room he had arrived in the Colosso contestant preparation room. It was especially crowded because of the large influx of contestants. The Ram sat with fully equipped in his armour with his arms folded. The rest of the combatants conversed freely with one another.

The room was far more crowded than it had been when Isaac was there years earlier. The room reminded Iodem of when the Vale warrior competed in the Colosso. Isaac had prepared in the same room as the burly soldiers and adventurers. Each of them seemed amused at Isaac, none of them could have possibly imagined the seventeen year old would even compete let alone win.

"So why bother competing then?" Iodem noticed two of Colosso's contestants conversing very near to him. None of the contestants had noticed the arrival of the imperial consort. Iodem's chief officer looked to him for a signal, a signal to announce the arrival of the emperor to the combatants. Iodem shook his head. _Better to hear what the warriors have to say when they think no one's listening._

The larger contestant answered the first's question, "Same reason as everyone else, to get noticed. Every man with a pile of dirt to his name is calling himself a king these days. And they all want the same thing: warriors. Where better to get hired as a mercenary than Tolbi's Colosso?"

The first contestant his head, his blue spikey hair waved wildly as he did so, "I guess. But why bother coming here if you think you don't even have a chance at winning?"

The second contestant laughed heartily, "And you think you have a chance Sean? Come on, there's no way you can beat him."

"The Ram?"

The second contestant laughed again, "Well him too I guess. But I wasn't talking about the emperor's golden boy, I was talking about Kibombo."

Sean looked confused, "Kibombo? Isn't Kibombo a city… in the south?"

Iodem's attention peaked at the mention of Kibombo. The Kibombans were causing much trouble for the Tolbi Empire since Iodem's troops annexed the city. Frequent riots were becoming a real problem for Iodem. Iodem worried that a full scale rebellion might be unavoidable. _If a Kibomban was registered to compete in Colosso… I'll need to talk with the combatant registration officers personally._

"Yea. And that's where Kibombo is from. No one knows the kid's real name so we just call him Kibombo. They say that the Ram is no match for him. He'll win it all this year. No doubt."

"Well if some kid from the south actually wins Colosso, the emperor certainly won't be pleased."

Iodem had heard enough. _The Kibombans are already unruly as it is. If Kibombo wins Tolbi's Colosso it will only encourage them. I can't risk a war. Not until the time is right._

Iodem nodded at his chief officer. The officer pounded his spear against the floor crushing stepping stones into dust as he did so, "Combatants! His Imperial Majesty graces you with his presence. Form a line and the emperor will greet you each individually."

The contestants all bowed lowly in Iodem's direction and then proceeded to obediently form a line. The Ram walked to the front of the line while Sean, the blue haired warrior, stood fearlessly behind him. The other one hundred and six contestants lined up behind Sean. Iodem peered into the crowd trying to make out the Kibomban warrior but he couldn't. All the warriors looked Angaran or North Gondowi and perhaps a few from Indra and Nihan. No Kibombans.

The Ram approached Iodem and bowed lowly, "Your Imperial Majesty, it is a great honour."

Iodem immediately stopped surveying the crowd and was taken by surprise by the Ram. Beneath the Ram's thick helmet only two dark eyes and the scraggly ends of his thin black beard could be made out. Iodem put his hand on the kneeling warriors massive shoulder armour, "Stand warrior! You have my blessing. May your hammer strike true and may the elements be with you."

The great warrior slowly stood his armour jostling about. When he got to his full height he towered over Iodem. Iodem pinned a small red ribbon inscribed in gold ink with Tolbi's insignia to the Ram's breast plate. In recent years it had become a tradition to give an imperial ribbon to the Emperor's favoured contestant, almost always a contestant native to Tolbi. The Ram bowed lowly again and walked away allowing the next contestant to greet Iodem.

Sean was next, the blue haired warrior who was discussing Kibombo earlier. Iodem recognized the warrior from years of Colosso. Each year the determined combatant came closer to victory but Iodem was sure that a win at Colosso was outside the range of the smallish man. Sean bowed lowly at the emperor, "Your Imperial Majesty, it is a great honour."

"Welcome warrior Sean. Your perseverance and determination do not go unnoticed. Good luck." Iodem decided to encourage the young combatant.

Sean smiled widely at the inspiration and walked away back to his preparation. The many contestants after Sean all went the same. They bowed lowly and said, "Your Imperial Majesty, it is a great honour." Iodem gave them each a generic good luck wish and they were off. All the while he was looking for the Kibomban warrior.

Finally the last combatant approached Iodem. It was the Kibomban, or Kibombo as the contestants called traditional hair style, in a bun, and garments were dead giveaways that the boy was Kibomban. Iodem was immediately taken by the youth of the warrior. _He's no older than Isaac was when he won_. He was tall. Probably even as tall as the Ram, but his was far lankier.

Kibombo approached Iodem far slower than the rest of the combatants and merely tipped in his head rather than the deep bows that the rest had directed at the emperor. Kibombo stood tall meeting the gaze of Iodem not saying a word. Iodem's consort gasped and murmured at the foreigner's disrespect. Iodem simply maintained eye contact with the boy for a full minute. _He's certainly fearless._

One of Iodem's guards took a quick step at Kibombo, his hands clutched tightly around the neck of his spear, "Do you realize who you're disrespecting Kibomban? This is your rightful rul-"

"Stop," Iodem cut his guard short with the loud command, "Leave him be." Iodem weighed his options carefully. Kibombo had put him in an impossible situation. To let the boy compete in Colosso would make Iodem appear weak to those present. But to kick him out would enrage the Kibombans and possibly push the already fragile situation to a breaking point. A compromise was in order.

Iodem put on his intimidating façade, a mood that did not come naturally to him, the same as Lord Babi before him. But in Iodem's years of being the emperor of one of Weyard's most powerful nations he had learnt how to appear powerful. He strode towards Kibombo and stopped a yard from the young warrior. Up close Iodem saw the boys facial features much clearer. A fire burned in Kibombo's eyes, one of sheer determination and power.

"Welcome to Tolbi. You are very brave to compete in Colosso. It is a very challenging and sometimes… _painful_ contest. May the godsprotect you. Leave me." Iodem inferred to the reckless boy that he might be needing the gods protection. And by commanding the boy to leave he reinstated his dominance. Kibombo left still without saying a word.

Iodem looked around at his consorts and the other contestants who had gathered. They seemed to respect Iodem and most of the murmuring ceased. However some surely questioned the lack of punishment doled out on Kibombo. _So be it. Better to lose an ounce of respect in my own city then to encourage the Kibombans._

However Iodem shuddered at the unfortunate situation that Kibombo had put him in, _There's no way the boy is getting out of this unscathed. He will go back to his people injured and defeated. Their spirit will be crushed along with him._

* * *

Drops of water bombarded the tarp that was spread over top of Iodem's viewing booth. A massive storm was blowing through Tolbi from the Karagol Sea in the north, just in time for Weyard's biggest event. The coliseum remained full to the brim, as the spectators allowed themselves to be soaked for the chance of witnessing the magnificent Colosso. On the stage blowing rain pelted Kibombo as he dashed through the course with astonishing speed. Colosso's open roof meant that sometimes the elements interfered with the contestants' ability to complete the course with speed. However Kibombo didn't seem to be slowing down, leaping from his initial platform onto a tall stone pillar and onto the next platform his tall legs kept the rest of his body steady. _He's certainly agile, but can he fight?_

Kibombo ran towards the centre stage, where he was to fight his quarter final match against the Angara warrior, Sean. Kibombo along with Sean, the Ram, and six other contestants breezed through the trials round easily out powering the other one hundred combatants. The eight finalists certainly earned their positions.

Nearly slipping on the slick wet tiles Kibombo took a sharp right turn, heading perpendicular to the centre stage. The crowd gasped as Kibombo barely caught himself from the fall. He rushed towards a treasure chest that he must have glanced out of the corner of the eye. Opening it he quickly grasped his winnings stuffing it into his pack. Most of the crowd couldn't see due to Kibombo's speed but Iodem knew that inside was a small dagger, a last resort weapon. Iodem had his architects design new Colosso courses each year, and every course had secrets. Iodem hadn't thought that the dagger would be found. _The boy had good eyes too._

Moving his eyes from Kibombo to Sean he saw that the Angaran warrior was struggling greatly in the rain. He trudged carefully through the puddles that had accumulated, in stark contrast to Kibombo's reckless dash. His hood was up and he wore a thick coat to protect from the weather. He slowly and pushed a stone pillar to allow him to access the next platform. _It looks like Kibombo will have the advantage at centre stage._

Glancing back towards the Kibomban warrior Iodem saw that the agile warrior had already made it to centre stage and was weighing his options. In the middle of the stage sat a small round shield made of iron and a pair of thick leather gloves. Surprisingly the warrior knelt beside the gloves and put them on. The crowd murmured to each other in confusion.

Now Kibombo had to wait. He knelt at centre stage preparing for his quarter final battle. As all eight finalists he was only initially armed with a short sword. However he was now also equipped with his short dagger and leather gloves. The rain continued to mercilessly pelt the lanky warrior as he waited.

At length Sean trudged his way to centre stage where Kibombo was waiting. The Angaran warrior looked at the young Gondowi who didn't return the gaze. Instead Kibombo remained kneeling with his eyes closed, mentally preparing. _He disrespects his opponent._

Sean moved to the centre of the battle platform and picked up the steel shield while drawing his short sword from his sheath. His mouth moved to say something to his younger opponent but Iodem couldn't hear above the shouts and jeers from the crowd. Kibombo drew his short sword and the two opponents began circling each other. Sean was barely recognizable as his blue hair sat soaking wet beneath his heavy hood. Kibombo on the other hand was dressed lightly and his black hair bun remained uncovered.

Sean swung first, his short sword swiped air as Kibombo effortlessly sidestepped the attack. Kibombo didn't take his chance to counter. Sean attacked again this time in a stabbing motion. Kibombo again dodged the blow and using his free and gloved hand he pushed Sean's blade to the ground. Simultaneously the Gondowi warrior lifted his short sword in the air high above his shorter opponent's head and began to swing at Sean, stopping just before contact was made.

In a wild motion Sean raised his iron shield to block Kibombo's blow that never came. Lifting the heavy shield in the quick motion through off Sean's balance and the unforgiving wet stage caused him to tumble to the ground. Sean's shield flew from his hand. Taking the prime chance Kibombo leaped at the Angaran warrior striking downwards with his sword. From his back Sean parried the flow with his own short sword.

Three more strikes from Kibombo were barely parried in time by the desperate Sean. The fourth strike went unblocked and it sliced Sean's uncovered wrist on his free arm. Sean immediately dropped his short sword to clutch the deep gash just as Kibombo put the tip of his sword inches from the defeated warrior's neck.

Sean must have admitted his defeat to the Gondowi because Kibombo sheathed his sword and the Colosso audience went crazy with excitement at the spectacle. Attendants rushed towards Sean quickly carrying him off the wet stage.

Iodem eyed Kibombo as the warrior silently walked off the stage not stopping to celebrate or gloat in his convincing victory. Perhaps the other contestant was right about Kibombo. The boy was quite the fighter. _He cannot win Colosso._ _Something must be done._

* * *

The stage was set for Colosso's final match. Kibombo had easily defeated a warrior from Kalay in his semi-final match while the Ram knocked out a fellow Tolbi warrior. The two would meet to determine the winner of Colosso. Iodem waiting underground in one of Tolbi's passageways for the arrival of his messenger

Torches flickered against the stone walls insufficiently illuminating the damp walls of the narrow tunnel in Tolbi's underground. A small man scurried down the passageway towards Iodem creating echoes throughout as his boots splashed through shallow puddles. "Your Imperial Majesty" the messenger bowed.

"Is it done?"

"Yes sire", the messenger's high voice filled the passageway.

"His hammer?" Iodem needed to make sure it was done correctly. The poison was fast acting and viscous but if The Ram had none of it on his hammer it was for naught.

"Yes sire. His hammer sire."

Iodem cautiously nodded, "Good. Give me the vial."

The messenger spastically pulled the vile out from his long coat and handed it to Iodem. Iodem held it in the air near a torch to better see its contents. The vial was half empty and drops of it had streaked the outside of the glass. It had been used. _He used half. That should be enough. The Ram just needs to land one blow. Kibombo will finally be defeated._

* * *

Kibombo and the Ram circled each other slowly as the coliseum's massive crowd held their breath in anticipation. The colossal storm that had blown in during the quarter finals was still causing havoc in Tolbi. This time hail pelted the contestants and crowd alike. The hail had easily torn through Iodem's booth's tarp so his servants erected a wooden roof. The hail melted and leaked through the cracks of the roof soaking Iodem and his dignitaries.

Again Kibombo had his head uncovered. The Ram had reacquired his signature hammer in the quarter-finals and held it now with both hands. His head was covered with a steel helm that he won in the semi-finals. The Ram's breath looked like smoking coming from under his thick helmet.

As always Kibombo allowed his opponent to strike first. The Ram rushed forward swinging his hammer in a deadly arc aimed at Kibombo's shins. For the first time in his Colosso career Kibombo was caught off guard as he had to jump frantically to barely avoid the Ram's blow. The side of the hammer grazed the bottom of Kibombo's feet. _Just one hit. All it takes is one drop to get into his blood._

The Kibomban steadied himself and raised his short sword into a defensive stance. Iodem was confused at the 's short sword would be uselessly knocked away if he attempted to parry a blow from the Ram's hammer. Iodem smiled._ The arrogant boy is finally scared._

The Ram raised his hammer above his head and this time took more of a conventional strike at Kibombo, targeting his left arm. Kibombo swiftly side stepped the blow but still did not counter. The Ram swung his hammer again targeting it at Kibombo's head. Kibombo ducked the blow and swung his short sword at the Ram's leg just barely slicing it.

The Ram took a step back but didn't seem to notice the bleeding gash in his leg. He charged Kibombo and unleashed a flurry of blows. Kibombo sidestepped and dodged each one in rapid succession. Somehow the Ram's hammer never made contact with Kibombo. Mercifully the hail began to turn into rain. Kibombo and the Ram slowly circled each other again, getting soaked as they did so.

The Ram again charged Kibombo and the blows were so fast that he finally caught the Gondowi directly in the arm. A crunch echoed through the stadium and the crowd gasped. Kibombo's arm was broken by the Ram's heavy hammer. Iodem let out a sigh of relief. _Perfect. Now it's only a matter of time. Seconds until Kibombo faints from the poison._

For the third time the Ram and Kibombo circled each other. Kibombo switched the sword from his broken sword arm to his left arm. Surely the Ram could finish the injured Gondowi at this point. _He's taunting him._

The circling went on for minutes. The rain continued to fall and the crowd's cheering became increasingly loud as the anticipation in the coliseum reached its peak. _The poison should be working by now. There's no way it wasn't mingled into Kibombo's blood._

The heavy rain pelted Iodem's face as it slipped through the cracks in the makeshift shelter. Iodem cringed with anger. _It's the rain. It must have washed the poison off the hammer. Regardless Kibombo will surely be defeated._

Finally the Ram charged Kibombo again. Instead of a flurry of strikes he unleashed one massive swing with his entire body thrown into the blow. A finishing strike. Kibombo side stepped the blow with his signature quickness but fell onto the stage as he couldn't use his broken arm for balance in the rainy weather. His short sword flew from his hand off the stage. The Ram's hammer slipped from his wet palms and crashed violently into the ground off of the stage.

The Ram roared in anger and jumped on the already downed Kibombo unleashing a right hook against his younger opponent's cheek. The attendants quickly ran up on the stage to pull the Ram off of the already defeated Kibombo before irreparable damage was done.

But they stopped suddenly while the Ram stopped with his blows. Iodem struggled to see what was going on as the crowd stood and screamed in excitement. The Ram and Kibombo rolled and suddenly Kibombo was on top with a dagger pressed up against the Ram's throat. The Ram was bleeding profusely from his side. _His dagger. The secret weapon. He must have stabbed the Ram in the ribs after the punch._

The attendants lifted the Ram to safety and healing offstage. Kibombo stood up and walked offstage brushing off the help of the attendants. His face was bloodied by the Ram's vicious punch. The crowd began to chant something. "Panther, Panther, Panther". Every winner of Colosso got a nick name that the audience decided. _They will call him the Panther now._

Iodem shuddered with anger. He had taken every precaution to ensure that this wouldn't happen. _The hammer must come down on the city of Kibombo. And swiftly. We cannot allow them to believe that this gives them power. We must reassert our dominance. The Tolbi Empire must thrive._

Lord Babi had worked his whole life to achieve greatness for Tolbi and Iodem wouldn't abandon the late ruler's dream. _With power comes influence. And with influence I can regain what Babi achieved so long ago. Kibombo won't stop me from living forever as Tolbi's Emperor._

* * *

_As always thanks a lot for reading, and thanks to my reviewers, Droory, Sentinel07, and Pablo. It's great to know someone's reading! _

_With this story I figured that seven years was long enough for the power to seriously get to Iodem's head. I mean, even in Golden Sun Babi and Iodem were doing some pretty questionable things (like kidnapping Sheba). If I ever write a story set after Dark Dawn I definitely want to explore what happens to Iodem's ambitious empire. Also I had a longish part in here where Iodem talks to Piers, Sheba, and Ivan (who all came to watch Colosso) about a bunch of different things but I took it out because I started to go on a tangent that was mostly unrelated to the main part of the story._

_Anyways, next story will be about Felix!_


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